Biogeochemistry of pyrite and iron sulfide oxidation in marine sediments

Pyrite (FeS2) and iron monosulfide (FeS) play a central role in the sulfur and iron cycles of marine sediments, They may be buried in the sediment or oxidized by O-2 after transport by bioturbation to the sediment surface. FeS2 and FeS may also be oxidized within the anoxic sediment in which NO3-, Fe(III) oxides, or MnO2 are available as potential electron acceptors. In chemical experiments, FeS2 and FeS were oxidized by MnO2 but not with NO3- or amorphous Fe(III) oxide (Schippers and Jorgensen, 2001). Here we also show that in experiments with anoxic sediment slurries, a dissolution of tracer-marked (FeS2)-Fe-55 occurred with MnO2 but not with NO3- or amorphous Fe(III) oxide as electron acceptor. To study a thermodynamically possible anaerobic microbial FeS, and FeS oxidation with NO3- or amorphous Fe(III) oxide as electron acceptor, more than 300 assays were inoculated with material from several marine sediments and incubated at different temperatures for > 1 yr. Bacteria could not be enriched with FeS2 as substrate or with FeS and amorphous Fe(III) oxide. With FeS and NO3-, 14 enrichments were obtained. One of these enrichments was further cultivated anaerobically with Fe2+ and S-0 as substrates and NO3- as electron acceptor, in the presence of (FeS2)-Fe-55, to test for co-oxidation of FeS2, but an anaerobic microbial dissolution of (FeS2)-Fe-55, could not been detected. FeS2 and FeS were not oxidized by amorphous Fe(III) oxide in the presence of Fe-complexing organic compounds in a carbonate-buffered solution at pH R. Despite many different experiments, an anaerobic microbial dissolution of FeS2 could not be detected; thus, we conclude that this process does not have a significant role in marine sediments. FeS can be oxidized microbially with NO3-, as electron acceptor. O-2 and MnO2, but not NO3- or amorphous Fe(III) oxide, are chemical oxidants for both FeS2 and FeS. Copyright (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd.