Effect of mineral acids on iron bacteria.

The oxidative ability of Thiobacillus ferroxidans in the presence of different concentrations of H2SO4, HC1, HNO3, and their mixtures was investigated. Bacteriological oxidation of FeSO4 is expressed as a function of time and acid concentration. For each acid and for their mixtures lethal concentrations for T. ferroxidans were found experimentally. On the basis of the lethal concentration for each acid separately the lethal concentrations of their mixtures were computed and it was found that they are in good agreement with the experimental data.