Uranium removal in groundwater by Priestia sp. isolated from uranium-contaminated mining soil

Abstract

Priestia sp. WW1 was isolated from a uranium-contaminated mining soil and identified. The uranium removal characteristics and mechanism of Priestia sp. WW1 were investigated. The results showed that the removal efficiency of uranium decreased with the increase of initial uranium concentration. When the uranium initial concentration was 5 mg/L, the uranium removal efficiency achieved 92.1%. The increase of temperature could promote the uranium removal. Carbon source could affect the removal rate of uranium, which was the fastest when the methanol was used as carbon source. The solution pH had significant effect on the uranium removal efficiency, which reached the maximum under solution pH 5.0. The experimental results and FTIR as well as XPS demonstrated that Priestia sp. WW1 could remove uranium via both adsorption and reduction. The common chloride ions, sulfate ions, Mn(II) and Cu(II) enhanced the uranium removal, while Fe(III) depressed the uranium removal. The Priestia sp. WW1 could effectively remove the uranium in the actual mining groundwater, and the increase of initial biomass could improve the removal efficiency of uranium in the actual mining groundwater. This study provided a promising bacterium for uranium remediation in the groundwater.