The catalytic performance on jarosite process of jarosite seeds via biosynthesis and chemical processes were studied, respectively. The SEM and XRD results showed that biosynthetic jarosite seeds （BIO seeds） had smooth surface and mainly consisted of potassium jarosite. The chemical synthesis jarosite seeds （CHM seeds） had a loose cauliflower-like surface and mainly consisted of hydronium jarosite. The catalytic performance of BIO seeds was better than that of CHM seeds on the formation of final jarosite product. The induction time can be shortened to 20 min, the reaction temperature can be reduced to only 75 ℃, and the initial reaction speed was enhanced obviously, up to 3.933%/min. The crystallinity of final jarosite product using BIO seeds can achieve 97.22%, while it was only 12.89% without seeds. This indicates that the precipitation process of jarosite is more complete with BIO seeds.
The function of microorganism and dissolution reaction pathway of carrollite in the bioleaching process were investigated. The results showed that both indirect and contact mechanisms influenced the leaching process. The dissolution of carrollite was significantly accelerated when bacteria were adsorbed on the mineral surface, indicating that the contact mechanism significantly affected the dissolution of carrollite. During bioleaching, the sequence of oxidation state of the sulfur moiety of carrollite was as follows： S？2→S0→S＋4→S＋6. Elemental sulfur precipitated on the mineral surface, indicating that the dissolution of carrollite occurred via the polysulfide pathway. The surface of carrollite was selectively corroded by bacteria, and oxidation pits with different sizes were observed at various sites. Elemental sulfur, sulfate and sulfite were present on the surface of carrollite during the leaching process, and may have formed a passivation layer on mineral surface.
