Biohydrometallurgy- towards eco-friendly and economic mining

Biohydrometallurgy is a field that encompasses the overlapping areas of biology and hydrometallurgy. Biohydrometallurgy is the process that employs microorganisms such as fungi and bacteria to produce various organic acids (using the metabolic Krebs cycle) for metal leakage. This method replaces the use of chemically manufactured acids, which is more environmentally friendly and has lower material costs. This is the basic principle of biomining. It is the technique of extracting metals from ores and other solid materials, typically using micro-organisms (bacteria, archae, fungi, or plants.

Why Biohydrometallurgy?

Most current biomining operations target valuable metals like copper, uranium, nickel, and gold that are commonly found in sulfidic (sulfur-bearing) minerals.
Microbesare especially good at oxidizing sulfidic minerals, converting metals like iron and copper into forms that can dissolve more easily.

What processes are used to Biomine?

The most common processes used in biomining are:

•   Heap leaching: freshly mined material is moved directly into heaps that are then bioleached.

•   Dump leaching: low-value ore or waste rock is placed in a sealed pit and then bioleached to remove more of the valuable metals from the waste pile.

•   Agitated leaching: crushed rocks are placed into a large vat that is shaken to distribute the microbes and material evenly and speed up the bioleaching process.
Leaching times vary from days to months, making this process slower than conventional mineral extraction techniques.[1] Dump and heap leaching are the oldest and most established biomining techniques, but the use of agitated leaching is becoming more common for minerals that are resistant to leaching, including some copper sulfides like chalcopyrite.

Advantages:

•   Compared to typical mining that uses hazardous chemicals and has a large CO2 footprint, biomining represents an environmentally friendly alternative, producing very little (if at all) hazardous waste.

•   Biomining techniques may also be used to clean up sites that have been polluted with metals.

Different methods used to bring out the metals:

•   A different biomining technique, for metals which are not dissolved by the microbes, uses microbes to break down the surrounding minerals, making it easier to recover the metal of interest directly from the remaining rock.

•   When the metal of interest is directly dissolved, the biomining process is called “bioleaching,” and when the metal of interest is made more accessible or “enriched” in the material left behind, it is called “bio-oxidation.”

R & D of Biomining:

•   New biomining techniques that do not involve oxidation are being tested, which would enable large-scale biomining for different types of minerals and metals.
•   Some researchers and companies are testing the use of biomining for recycling, to recover valuable elements from wastewater and electronic waste.
•   Several smaller operations recover metals from existing acid mine drainage. These operations recover economically valuable metals that would otherwise cause pollution.
•   The feasibility of biomining deep underground is being studied to avoid having to excavate the rocks themselves.

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