Free iron is one of the major analytical items for soil basic properties. It is also an important indicator for understanding the genesis of soil, soil classification, and soil distribution behavior. In this study, an alternative analytical method (chemisorption) based on thermodynamic knowledge was proposed for measurement of total free iron oxides in soils. Several representative soil samples belonging to alfisols, ultisols, inceptisols, and entisols were collected from Taiwan and tested by the chemisorption, and the estimated total free iron oxides were compared with those measured from the traditional citrate bicarbonate dithionite (CBD) method. Experimental results showed that the optimal operating temperature was found to be at 773 K and the carbon monoxide (CO) is the best gaseous reagent to promote the formation of FeS. The estimated total free iron oxides for soil samples determined from the chemisorption in the presence of CO were very close to those from the CBD technique. The result of regression indicates that the estimated total free iron is strongly correlated with the CBD-Fe content (R2 = 0.999) in the presence of CO.

A thermophilic cyanobacterial strain, Thermosynechococcus sp. CL-1 (TCL-1) was examined to investigate photocurrent generation under illumination without the adding of artificial mediators in an H-type two-compartment electrolysis cell. Dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) was used as a nitrogen source at 0.2 V (vs Ag/AgCl). Additionally, cyclic voltammetric experiments were used to verify the presence of oxidative compound excreted from TCL-1. Results indicated that the relationship between photocurrent generation and TCL-1 cell mass is a positive linear. No apparent differences on TCL-1 growth between the case of control and 0.2 V (vs Ag/AgCl) indicated the electron uptake from TCL-1 at 0.2 V has no effect on its growth. The presence of redox compound excreted from TCL-1 is supported through the cyclic voltammetric experiment and plastoqunione, cytochrome b6/f, and plastocyanin between 0.2 and 0.7 V are the most probable mediators in electron transportation.