Bioleaching of low-grade copper sulfide ore by extremely thermoacidophilic consortia at 70℃in column reactors

The effects of introducing M.sedula derivatives having different Cu^2+-resistance on bioleaching capacity of a defined consortium(consisting of A.brierleyi DSM1651 and M.hakonensis HO1-1)were studied in column reactors at 70℃.Introducing M.sedula copA mutant,a copper sensitive derivative,only had negligible effects on bioleaching.While introducing M.sedula ARS50-2,a Cu^2+resistant strain,substantially consolidated bioleaching process,with 27.77%more copper recovered after 58 d of bioleaching.Addition of M.sedula ARS50-2 likely enhanced the sulfur oxidation capacity of consortium after the 24th day under the Cu^2+stress.The majority of extreme thermoacidophiles were attached on minerals surface as indicated by quantitative PCR(qPCR)data.Successions of microbial community of extremely thermoacidophilic consortia that attached on surface of minerals were different from those in leachate.M.hakonensis HO1-1 was the dominant species attached on minerals surface in each column reactor throughout bioleaching process.The sessile M.sedula ARS50-2 remained as a major species till the 34th day.A.brierleyi DSM1651 was the most abundant planktonic species in leachate of each column reactor.These results highlight that higher Cu^2+-resistance is a beneficial trait for extreme thermoacidophiles to process copper minerals.

Fracture behavior and microstructure analysis of Al2O3–MgO–CaO castables for steel-ladle purging plugs

Three different castables based on the Al_2O_3–MgO –CaO system were prepared as steel-ladle purging plug refractories： corundum-based low-cement castable（C-LCC）, corundum-spinel-based low-cement castable（C-S-LCC）, and corundum-spinel no-cement castable（C-S-NCC）（hydratable alumina（ρ-Al_2O_3） bonded）. The fracture behavior at room temperature was tested by the method of ＂wedge-splitting＂ on samples pre-fired at different temperatures; the specific fracture energy G′f and notched tensile strength σNT were obtained from these tests. In addition, the Young＇s modulus E was measured by the method of resonance frequency of damping analysis（RFDA）. The thermal stress resistance parameter R′′′′ calculated using the values of G′f, σNT, and E was used to evaluate the thermal shock resistance of the materials. According to the microstructure analysis results, the sintering effect and the bonding type of the matrix material were different among these three castables, which explains their different fracture behaviors.

Copper pollution decreases the resistance of soil microbial community to subsequent dry–rewetting disturbance

Dry–rewetting（DW） disturbance frequently occurs in soils due to rainfall and irrigation, and the frequency of DW cycles might exert significant influences on soil microbial communities and their mediated functions. However, how microorganisms respond to DW alternations in soils with a history of heavy metal pollution remains largely unknown.Here, soil laboratory microcosms were constructed to explore the impacts of ten DW cycles on the soil microbial communities in two contrasting soils（fluvo-aquic soil and red soil）under three copper concentrations（zero, medium and high）. Results showed that the fluctuations of substrate induced respiration（SIR） decreased with repeated cycles of DW alternation. Furthermore, the resistance values of substrate induced respiration（RS-SIR）were highest in non-copper-stressed（zero） soils. Structural equation model（SEM） analysis ascertained that the shifts of bacterial communities determined the changes of RS-SIR in both soils. The rate of bacterial community variance was significantly lower in noncopper-stressed soil compared to the other two copper-stressed（medium and high） soils,which might lead to the higher RS-SIR in the fluvo-aquic soil. As for the red soil, the substantial increase of the dominant group WPS-2 after DW disturbance might result in the low RS-SIR in the high copper-stressed soil. Moreover, in both soils, the bacterial diversity was highest in non-copper-stressed soils. Our results revealed that initial copper stress could decrease the resistance of soil microbial community structure and function to subsequent DW disturbance.

A novel copper-sensing two-component system for inducing Dsb gene expression in bacteria

In nature, bacteria must sense copper and tightly regulate gene expression to evade copper toxicity. Here,we identify a new copper-responsive two-component system named DsbRS in the important human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa;in this system, DsbS is a sensor histidine kinase, and DsbR, its cognate response regulator, directly induces the transcription of genes involved in protein disulfide bond formation(Dsb)(i.e., the dsbDEG operon and dsbB). In the absence of copper, DsbS acts as a phosphatase toward DsbR, thus blocking the transcription of Dsb genes. In the presence of copper, the metal ion directly binds to the sensor domain of DsbS, and the Cys82 residue plays a critical role in this process. The copperbinding behavior appears to inhibit the phosphatase activity of DsbS, leading to the activation of DsbR.The copper resistance of the dsbRS knock-out mutant is restored by the ectopic expression of the dsbDEG operon, which is a DsbRS major target. Strikingly, cognates of the dsbRS-dsbDEG pair are widely distributed across eubacteria. In addition, a DsbR-binding site, which contains the consensus sequence 5’-TTA-N8-TTAA-3’, is detected in the promoter region of dsbDEG homologs in these species. These findings suggest that the regulation of Dsb genes by DsbRS represents a novel mechanism by which bacterial cells cope with copper stress.

Corrosion property of copperized layer on Zr formed by double glow plasma surface alloying technique

Zr and its alloys have excellent mechanical properties as new structural material,but in specific application environment,its corrosion resistance still needs to be further explored.In this work,double glow plasma surface alloying technique was used for copperizing on pure Zr surface.Besides,X-ray diffraction（XRD）,scanning electron microscope（SEM） and energy dispersion spectrum（EDS） were employed to characterize the samples.Furthermore,research was also conducted on the polarization curve of the samples in different solutions.Copperizing on surface can improve corrosion resistance of pure Zr in 3.5 % Na Cl and 0.5 moláL-1Na OH solutions.Especially in 0.5 moláL-1Na OH solution,the corrosion resistance can achieve significant improvement.However,copperizing has no influence on the improvement of corrosion resistance of pure Zr in 0.5 moláL-1H2SO4 solution.The results may provide new insight into way for improving the corrosion property of zirconium alloys.