Enhanced bioleaching of granite-type uranium ore using an applied electric field

This study investigates the effect of an applied electric field on the enhancement of uranium ore bioleaching. It has been shown that the Fe2+ oxidation rate of bacteria was increased by 28.52% under an applied electric field with a current intensity of 10 mA. The leaching rate of uranium due to bioleaching with an applied electric field reached 93.02%, which was 13.3% higher than that of conventional bioleaching. Under a direct current field, Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans can not only use Fe2+ ions reduced by the cathode reaction as an energy source but also directly use the graphite cathode as an electron donor to obtain higher bacterial concentrations. Various characterization methods such as scanning electron microscopy and microbial community analysis demonstrated that applied electric fields increased the activity of leaching microorganisms, reduced the production of jarosite precipitation, and increased the microbial diversity and relative abundance of target microorganisms (Acidithiohacillus) in the overall community, thus improving the leaching efficiency of uranium.