Abstract:Effects of mass fraction of polyethylene glycol 2000 (PEG2000) on activity of bacterium oxidized ferrous ion, solubility of tellurium ore, and process of bacterial leaching of low-grade tellurium by Acidithiobacillus Ferrooxidans were studied. The results show that adding PEG2000 with mass fraction of 0~0.09% can promote bacteria to oxidize ferrous ion and dissolve sample. Addition of 0.09% mass fraction of PEG2000 has the best oxidizing effect on tellurium ore with bacteria. After leaching for 24 days, the extracting amount of tellurium is 123.79 mg/L, which is 1.5 times of that with no addition of PEG2000. When addition mass fraction of PEG2000 is 0.12% above, PEG2000 has inhibitory effects on Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans to oxidize tellurium ore, because high concentration of PEG2000 in solution may affect oxidative activity of bacterium.