Researchers from Germany and Spain have discovered that soil bacteria, in the presence of glycerol, can effectively convert uranium dissolved in water into a stable pentavalent form, reports infohub.kz.
Specialists from the Helmholtz Center Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR), Wismut GmbH, and the University of Granada studied the effect of bacteria on dissolved uranium. In a laboratory experiment with mine water from the Ore Mountains, scientists added glycerol as a nutrient medium for microorganisms and recreated oxygen-free conditions.
Over 130 days of bacterial activity, the level of the toxic heavy metal dissolved in water dropped by 95%. Analysis using spectroscopy at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in Grenoble showed that uranium accumulated in the bacterial cell walls. The microbes formed a rare compound of pentavalent uranium with iron and oxygen—FeU(V)O4.
Previously, this form was considered transient and unstable. However, experiments showed that the resulting substance remains stable even when exposed to oxygen. The authors of the study, published in Nature Communications, plan to continue research to use bacteria in the cleanup of contaminated water bodies.