Faculty
Science
Supervisor Name
Desmond Moser
Keywords
SRB, Covellite, Copper, Deep Geological Repository, Antimicrobial, Bacteria
Description
We are analyzing the effect of sulphate reducing bacteria on native copper, and using that evidence to further support the initiative of having a deep geological repository to store nuclear material. Sulphate reducing bacteria are a concern for the deep geological repository as they cause the corrosion of regular copper. However native copper has gone billions of years without corrosion, which could either mean that it had not been exposed to sulphate reducing bacteria over the billions of years, or native copper is able to withstand corrosion despite the contact of sulphate reducing bacteria. We can find out by trying to find the biomarkers of sulphate reducing bacteria on native copper, which through literature search are found to be copper sulphide also known as Covellite. By using an electron microscope to search for Covellite on the native copper sample, we can determine if, and how sulphate reducing bacteria affects native copper. A further application of this experiment would be to see how to implement this characteristic of native copper onto the copper used in the deep geological repository.
Acknowledgements
Thank you to Professor Desmond Moser and Emilie Landry, along with the Faculty of Earth Sciences, without their support this project would not have been possible.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Document Type
Poster
Included in
Bacteriology Commons, Biogeochemistry Commons, Biotechnology Commons, Environmental Health and Protection Commons, Environmental Microbiology and Microbial Ecology Commons, Evolution Commons, Oil, Gas, and Energy Commons, Sustainability Commons, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons
Exploring the Use of Covellite as a Proxy for Corrosion of Native Copper by Sulphur Reducing Bacteria
We are analyzing the effect of sulphate reducing bacteria on native copper, and using that evidence to further support the initiative of having a deep geological repository to store nuclear material. Sulphate reducing bacteria are a concern for the deep geological repository as they cause the corrosion of regular copper. However native copper has gone billions of years without corrosion, which could either mean that it had not been exposed to sulphate reducing bacteria over the billions of years, or native copper is able to withstand corrosion despite the contact of sulphate reducing bacteria. We can find out by trying to find the biomarkers of sulphate reducing bacteria on native copper, which through literature search are found to be copper sulphide also known as Covellite. By using an electron microscope to search for Covellite on the native copper sample, we can determine if, and how sulphate reducing bacteria affects native copper. A further application of this experiment would be to see how to implement this characteristic of native copper onto the copper used in the deep geological repository.