Comparative study on biotic system and abiotic system of marmatite at high cupric ions concentration

Summary This work investigated the behavior and mechanism of Cu2+ in marmatite biotic system and abiotic system. The leaching experiments show that the high cupric ions concentration (5 g/L) had obvious isolation both in biotic system and abiotic system in the early stage, the barrier effect gradually disappeared in biotic system. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electrochemical methods indicate that isolation substances were formed on marmatite surface in the presence of high cupric ions concentration (5 g/L), which may be CuxSy. However, the isolation substances were eliminated in biotic system. Meanwhile, polysulfides and other substances were produced. The effect of these newly generated substances by bacteria on the surface oxidation of the marmatite remains to be explored.