Influence of silicate on the transport of bacteria in quartz sand and iron mineral-coated sand

The influence of silicate on the transport and deposition of bacteria (Escherichia coli) in packed porous media were examined at a constant 20 mM ionic strength with different silicate concentrations (from 0 to 1 mM) at pH 7. Transport experiments were performed in two types of representative porous media, both bare quartz sand and iron mineral-coated quartz sand. In bare quartz sand, the breakthrough plateaus in the presence of silicate in suspensions were lower and the corresponding retained profiles were higher than those without silicate ions, indicating that the presence of silicate in suspensions decreased cell transport in bare quartz sand. Moreover, the decrease of bacteria transport in quartz sand induced by silicate was more pronounced with increasing silicate concentrations from 0 to 1 mM. However, when EPS was removed from cell surfaces, the presence of silicate in cell suspensions (with different concentrations) did not affect the transport behavior of bacteria in quartz sand. The interaction of silicate with EPS on cell surfaces negatively decreased the zeta potentials of bacteria, resulting in the decreased cell transport in bare quartz sand when silicate was copresent in bacteria suspensions. In contrast, the presence of silicate in suspensions increased cell transport in iron mineral-coated sand. Silicate ions competed with bacteria for the adsorption sites on mineral-coated sand, contributing to the increased cell transport in mineral-coated sand with silicate present in cell suspensions.