Ferrocenes and Porphyrins as Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans Growth Activators under Ultrasound Irradiation

Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans are beneficial bacteria for bioleaching in the mining industry to extract useful fractions from tons of waste. These bacteria are able to oxidize ferrous iron (Fe2+) to ferric iron (Fe3+) and use the released energy to assimilate carbon from carbon dioxide or carbonates, and can be used in the desulfurization of coal and gas. In this regard, activators of the growth of these bacteria may be useful. During the experiments on these bacterial strains, an unexpected effect of growth activation was revealed. This gives rise to further research in this direction and the identification of patterns of “structure-activity” derivatives of ferrocene and porphyrins in relation to A. ferrooxidans. © 2023 Wiley-VCH GmbH.