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research article

Uranium redox transition pathways in acetate-amended sediments

Bargar, J. R.
•
Williams, K. H.  
•
Campbell, K. M.
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2013
Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America (PNAS)

Redox transitions of uranium [from U(VI) to U(IV)] in low-temperature sediments govern the mobility of uranium in the environment and the accumulation of uranium in ore bodies, and inform our understanding of Earth's geochemical history. The molecular-scale mechanistic pathways of these transitions determine the U(IV) products formed, thus influencing uranium isotope fractionation, reoxidation, and transport in sediments. Studies that improve our understanding of these pathways have the potential to substantially advance process understanding across a number of earth sciences disciplines. Detailed mechanistic information regarding uranium redox transitions in field sediments is largely nonexistent, owing to the difficulty of directly observing molecular-scale processes in the subsurface and the compositional/physical complexity of subsurface systems. Here, we present results from an in situ study of uranium redox transitions occurring in aquifer sediments under sulfate-reducing conditions. Based on molecular-scale spectroscopic, pore-scale geochemical, and macroscale aqueous evidence, we propose a biotic-abiotic transition pathway in which biomass-hosted mackinawite (FeS) is an electron source to reduce U(VI) to U(IV), which subsequently reacts with biomass to produce monomeric U(IV) species. A species resembling nanoscale uraninite is also present, implying the operation of at least two redox transition pathways. The presence of multiple pathways in low-temperature sediments unifies apparently contrasting prior observations and helps to explain sustained uranium reduction under disparate biogeochemical conditions. These findings have direct implications for our understanding of uranium bioremediation, ore formation, and global geochemical processes.

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Type
research article
DOI
10.1073/pnas.1219198110
Web of Science ID

WOS:000317521600030

Author(s)
Bargar, J. R.
Williams, K. H.  
Campbell, K. M.
Long, P. E.
Stubbs, J. E.
Suvorova Buffat, Elena  
Lezama-Pacheco, J. S.
Alessi, Daniel Scott  
Stylo, Malgorzata Alicja  
Webb, S. M.
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Date Issued

2013

Publisher

National Academy of Sciences

Published in
Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America (PNAS)
Volume

110

Issue

12

Start page

4506

End page

4511

Subjects

metal reduction

•

roll front

•

sulfate reduction

•

sulfide

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bioreduction

Editorial or Peer reviewed

REVIEWED

Written at

EPFL

EPFL units
EML  
Available on Infoscience
March 5, 2013
Use this identifier to reference this record
https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/90099
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