Kinetics of Mn(II) oxidation by spores of the marine Bacillus sp. SG-1

The kinetics of Mn(II) oxidation by spores of the marine Bacillus sp. SG-1 was measured under controlled conditions of the initial Mn(II) concentration, spore concentration, chemical speciation, pH, O2, and temperature. Mn(II) oxidation experiments were performed with spore concentrations ranging from 0.7 to 11 × 109 spores/L, a pH range from 5.8 to 8.1, temperatures between 4 and 58 °C, a range of dissolved oxygen from 2 to 270 μM, and initial Mn(II) concentrations from 1 to 200 μM. The Mn(II) oxidation rates were directly proportional to the spore concentrations over these ranges of concentration. The Mn(II) oxidation rate increased with increasing initial Mn(II) concentration to a critical concentration, as described by the Michaelis–Menten model (Km = ca. 3 μM). Whereas with starting Mn(II) concentrations above the critical concentration, the rate was almost constant in low ionic solution (I = 0.05, 0.08). At high ionic solution (I = 0.53, 0.68), the rate was inversely correlated with Mn(II) concentration. Increase in the Mn(II) oxidation rate with the dissolved oxygen concentration followed the Michaelis–Menten model (Km = 12–19 μM DO) in both a HEPES-buffered commercial drinking (soft) water and in artificial and natural seawater. Overall, our results suggest that the mass transport limitations of Mn(II) ions due to secondary Mn oxide products accumulating on the spores cause a significant decrease of the oxidation rate at higher initial Mn(II) concentration on a spore basis, as well as in more concentrated ionic solutions. The optimum pH for Mn(II) oxidation was approximately 7.0 in low ionic solutions (I = 0.08). The high rates at the alkaline side (pH > 7.5) may suggest a contribution by heterogeneous reactions on manganese bio-oxides. The effect of temperature on the Mn(II) oxidation rate was studied in three solutions (500 mM NaCl, ASW, NSW solutions). Thermal denaturation occurred at 58 °C and spore germination was evident at 40 °C in all three solutions. The activation energies calculated from the Arrhenius plots are consistent with the observation that Ca ions stimulate the Mn(II) oxidation rate.