Biogeochemical behavior and pollution control of arsenic in mining areas: A review

Fan Zhuang; Jingyi Huang; Hongguang Li; Xing Peng; Ling Xia; Lei Zhou; Teng Zhang; Zhenghua Liu; Qiang He; Feng Luo; Huaqun Yin; Delong Meng

doi:10.3389/fmicb.2023.1043024

Biogeochemical behavior and pollution control of arsenic in mining areas: A review

Front Microbiol. 2023 Mar 23:14:1043024. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1043024. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Fan Zhuang¹, Jingyi Huang¹, Hongguang Li², Xing Peng³, Ling Xia⁴, Lei Zhou⁵, Teng Zhang¹, Zhenghua Liu¹, Qiang He⁶, Feng Luo⁷, Huaqun Yin¹, Delong Meng¹

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Biometallurgy Ministry of Education, School of Minerals Processing and Bioengineering, Central South University, Changsha, China.
² Chenzhou Tobacco Company of Hunan Province, Chenzhou, China.
³ Hunan Renhe Environment Co., Ltd., Changsha, China.
⁴ Hubei Key Laboratory of Mineral Resources Processing and Environment, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
⁵ Beijing Research Institute of Chemical Engineering and Metallurgy, Beijing, China.
⁶ Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, United States.
⁷ School of Computing, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, United States.

Abstract

Arsenic (As) is one of the most toxic metalloids that possess many forms. As is constantly migrating from abandoned mining area to the surrounding environment in both oxidation and reducing conditions, threatening human health and ecological safety. The biogeochemical reaction of As included oxidation, reduction, methylation, and demethylation, which is closely associated with microbial metabolisms. The study of the geochemical behavior of arsenic in mining areas and the microbial remediation of arsenic pollution have great potential and are hot spots for the prevention and remediation of arsenic pollution. In this study, we review the distribution and migration of arsenic in the mining area, focus on the geochemical cycle of arsenic under the action of microorganisms, and summarize the factors influencing the biogeochemical cycle of arsenic, and strategies for arsenic pollution in mining areas are also discussed. Finally, the problems of the risk control strategies and the future development direction are prospected.

Keywords: arsenic pollution; bio-geochemical processes; microbial communities; mining area; pollution control.

Publication types

Review

Grants and funding

This study was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (2018YFE0110200) and the Key Research and Development Program of Hunan Province (Nos. 2020WK2022 and 2022SK2076).