Deciphering Vanadium Speciation in Smelting Ash and Adaptive Responses of Soil Microorganisms

Abundant smelting ash is discharged during pyrometallurgical vanadium (V) production. However, its associated V speciation and resultant ecological impact have remained elusive. In this study, V speciation in smelting ash and its influence on the metabolism of soil microorganisms were investigated. Smelting ashes from V smelters contained abundant V (19.6–115.9 mg/g). V(V) was the dominant species for soluble V, while solid V primarily existed in bioavailable forms. Previously unrevealed V nanoparticles (V-NPs) were prevalently detected, with a peak concentration of 1.3 × 1013 particles/g, a minimal size of 136.0 ± 0.6 nm, and primary constituents comprising FeVO4, VO2, and V2O5. Incubation experiments implied that smelting ash reshaped the soil microbial community. Metagenomic binning, gene transcription, and component quantification revealed that Microbacterium sp. and Tabrizicola sp. secreted extracellular polymeric substances through epsB and yhxB gene regulation for V-NPs aggregation to alleviate toxicity under aerobic operations. The V K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectra suggested that VO2 NPs were oxidized to V2O5 NPs. In the anaerobic case, Comamonas sp. and Achromobacter sp. reduced V(V) to V(IV) for detoxification regulated by the napA gene. This study provides a deep understanding of the V speciation in smelting ash and microbial responses, inspiring promising bioremediation strategies to reduce its negative environmental impacts.