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Characterization of Bacillus cereus Bacteria Isolated from Egyptian Iron Ore Surface

Introduction The necessity to process and beneficiate ores with lower grades, which are more refractory and finely disseminated, has resulted in the conventional mineral processing and hydrometallurgical operations becoming inadequate and inefficient. Further, stringent environmental regulations have constrained the processing of ores. It thus becomes imperative to develop novel technologies for mineral processing and waste remediation. Recent developments in biotechnology hold promise to process such difficult-to-treat ores as well as to safeguard the environment. The growing importance of mineral bioprocessing can be gauged from the conferences exclusively dedicated to this topic [1-4]. An excellent overview of mineral bioprocessing has been compiled by Smith and Misra (1991b)[5]. Typical examples of the potential applications of microbes in mineral beneficiation [6, 7], flotation collectors [8] and flotation modifiers [9, 10]. These bacterial isolates act as bio-reagents and may induce hydrophobic properties once they can adhere selectively onto the mineral surface [11]. The microorganism cell surface is conformed by functional groups like polymers, peptides, phospholipids, proteins and organic acids [12]. Those groups must adhere to the mineral surface directly and utilize cell surface associated or extracellular biopolymers to catalyse chemical reactions on the mineral surface [1, 13 and 14]. Like traditional reagents, the bacterial isolate interacts with the mineral surface and gives amphoteric characteristics to it, [15]. Application of bio-reagents as collectors involves several fundamental aspects: surface charge, presence of specific hydrophobic groups and polymers compounds which deeply affect their adhesion to the mineral surface [13, 16 and 17]. Bacillus cereus is frequently isolated from both the natural environment (soil and growing plants) and foods, including raw and pasteurized milk and milk products [18], dried products [19], pulses and cereals [20], spices [21], meat products, raw meat and meat product additives [22], fresh vegetables and ready-to-eat vegetable-based foods [23]. There is the first time in isolating B. cereus from mineral surface and studying its behaviour in mineral processing. In this paper, complete characterization of B. cereus bacterium isolated from iron oxide surface and its adsorption on the mineral surface has been studied. Materials and Methods Materials Sample of single mineral of haematite (Fe2O3), was delivered from ‘Wards’ Company, USA. The purity (99.9 %) of the samples was confirmed using XRF. The –200 mesh fractions were used in adsorption studies. Analytical grade HCl and NaOH, from Aldrich, were used for pH regulations. Methods Bacterial Growing and Isolation A suspension containing 0.5 gm of mineral sample in 10 ml distilled water was prepared. After that, 1 ml of suspension was taken and sprayed onto a nutrient agar plate surface then incubated for 24-48 hr at 30 o C. The developed colonies were picked up and streaked on nutrient agar plates and incubated at 30 o C for 24-48 hr. The final step was repeated several times until pure colonies have been obtained. Separate colonies were picked up, streaked on nutrient agar slopes, stored at 4 o C and subcultured monthly [24]. Characterization of Bacillus cereus Bacteria Isolated from Egyptian Iron Ore Surface Nagui A. Abdel-Khalek, Khaled A. Selim* and Samah S. Abdallah Central Metallurgical Research & Development Institute, (CMRDI), Helwan, Egypt.