ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with pyrite removal assisted by Thiobacillus ferrooxidans. As other reactions are also of some relevance in this context, a distinction is made between the following reaction types: purely chemical reaction, biochemical reaction, and chemobiochemical reaction sequence. When studying pyrite removal from hard coals one should also consider oxidation of the organic coal substance. Since iron salts soluble in water function as catalysts in coal oxidation, such a catalytic process necessarily also happens during pyrite removal. To determine the dependency of seepage rate on coal size, tests were run in glass tubes of 15 mm diameter into which were placed 10-cm-high columns of one coal type but of different size ranges. The microbes used for pyrite removal will attack pyritic sulfur exclusively; they are ineffective for organic sulfur.
