Biomining theory, microbes and industrial processes. Learn the basics about future extraction methods including bioleaching and phytomining. Request pdf bioleaching and biomining universal reserves of highgrade ores are diminishing at an alarming rate due to the rapid increase in the demand for metals. The bioleaching of ores and concentrates may be an energysaving alternative. Current concepts of microbial metal mobilization and its application as green technology. Biomining method is cheap, reliable, efficient and also environment friendly method of mineral recovery. Although gold is inert to microbial action, microbes can also be.
The environmental consequences of mining and quarrying are vast, as highlighted in the mining section. Gold bioleaching of electronic waste by cyanogenic bacteria and its enhancement with biooxidation. Biomining is the biotechnology that uses microorganisms to recover metals, in particular copper and gold, from ores and concentrates. Microbial mining biomining biomining is a generic term that describes the processing of metalcontaining ores and concentrates of metalcontaining ores using microbiological technology. Natural bioleaching has been taking place for almost as long as the history of the world, but it is only in the last few decades that we have realized that bioleaching is responsible for acid production in some mining wastes, and that this bacterial activity can be used to liberate some metals. These will include the working of lowgrade ore deposits, mine tailings, mine dumps, and workedout mines. Either use low grade ores rework mine trailings or to avoid the extraction of large amounts of ores to the surface. Engineering microbial consortia to enhance biomining and. For the last 10 centuries, microorganisms have assisted in the recovery of copper dissolved in drainage from water. Heap or dump bioleaching, tank bioleaching, in situ or in place bioleaching. Biooxidation is the enrichment of metals, particularly gold, by mobilization and thus removal of interfering metal sulfides from ores bearing the precious metals rohwerder et al. Microbial leaching bioleaching, biomining microbial leaching is the process by which metals are dissolved from ore bearing rocks using microorganisms.
For biomining specialized microorganisms are used in order to recover valuable metals from ores via bioleaching. During bioleaching, metals such as copper, nickel or zinc are oxidized through microbial action from the waterinsoluble sulfide to the soluble sulfate forms. Bioleaching of heavy metals from a lowgrade mining ore using aspergillus niger. A novel bio leaching process to recover valuable metals from. Metal recovery to produce a valuable resource biomining is applied bioleaching and biooxidation with the aim of extracting metals from ore in contrast to acid mine drainage which is uncontrolled and unintentional. Biomining is a process in which microbes such as bacteria, are used to speed up bioleaching, the process of breaking down the minerals surrounding metal ore. This is a part of the overall environmental chemistry topic. Ppt biomining powerpoint presentation free to view. The plants absorb copper ions through their roots the plants are then burnt to ashes containing copper ions. Georgius agricola 14941555 referred to copper leaching from ores and leachates from mines. In the past several decades amd microorganisms have been used extensively for biomining or bioleaching of valuable metals yin et al.
Biomining will become more important as highgrade surface. It is currently the highest producing copper mine in the world. Biomining is done in two steps often called bioleaching and biooxidation. Microbial leaching is the process by which metals are dissolved from ore bearing rocks using microorganisms. Bioleaching definition is the extraction of valuable metals such as copper and gold from ores through the action of microorganisms such as bacteria. Biomining techniques may also be used to clean up sites that have been polluted with metals. Bioleaching is the process by which metals are dissolved from ore bearing rocks using microorganisms.
Bioleaching and biomining request pdf researchgate. In industrial bioleaching biomining three technical processes are differentiated. Phytomining and bioleaching gcse triple award revision. Biomining is an increasingly applied biotechnological procedure for processing of ores in the mining industry biohydrometallurgy. Biomining is also known as microbial leaching or as biooxidation. Bioleaching rate and sulfide dissolution yields wide range of do concentration below and above 6ppm oxygen transfer biomass to study bioleaching efficiency vs. Pdf bioleaching and biomining for the industrial recovery of metals. Ppt biomining and bioleaching powerpoint presentation.
Bioleaching definition of bioleaching by merriamwebster. Bioleaching is the extraction of metals from their ores through the use of living organisms. Biomining is done in two steps known as bioleaching and biooxidation. Scribd is the worlds largest social reading and publishing site. Biomining for insitu resource utilization darin ragozzine harvard university 030504 nasa institute for advanced concepts student visions of the futu slideshare uses cookies to improve functionality and performance, and to provide you with relevant advertising. Having developed from a very simple operational in terms of both engineering and biology process, biomining has developed into a multifaceted technology, to the extent that many of the largest industrial stirred tanks and heaps throughout the world are. Conversion of an insoluble valuable metal metal sulfide into a soluble form metal sulfate using microorganisms major application. Besides, biomining technology has potential environmental benefits. Bhp billiton is the owner of the mine and manages the open pit copper mine in atacama desert, in the north of chile. Biomining a useful approach toward metal extraction. Biomining, biosorption, bioleaching, critical metals, weee 1. Nowadays the production of copper from lowgrade ores is the most important industrial application and a significant part of world copper production already originates from heap or dumpstockpile bioleaching. Some microbes can oxidize those metals, allowing them. Due to an increase in consumerism, heightened dependence on technology, and an overall world population growth, more and more minerals and metals need to be extracted from the earths surface as shown in figure 1.
New methods of copper extraction exploit waste ores and low grade ores phytomining involves growing plants on top of low grade ores. Biomining theory, microbes and industrial processes douglas e. Biomining will become more important as highgrade surface mineral deposits are worked out and become less viable, and mining companies will be forced to find other mineral sources. Pdf bioleaching copper recovery from mine waters in the mediterranean area 3000 years ago. Biohydrometallurgy an overview sciencedirect topics. Bioleaching where microorganisms are used to facilitate the mining of metals. Commercial biomining applications have mainly targeted copper, gold, uranium, nickel, cobalt and zinc sulfides. Bioleaching of gold, copper and nickel from waste cellular. Biomining are usually partitioned into two separate processes. Biomining biotechnological systems bioleaching and. Biomining is a technique of extracting metals from ores and other solid materials typically using prokaryotes or fungi. Lowgrade copper sulfides heap and dump bioleaching 2. Thus biomining has emerge as an important branch of biotechnology in recent. Jerez, bioleaching and biomining for the industrial recovery of metals, in reference module in life.
Biohydrometallurgy represents an interdisciplinary field where aspects of microbiology especially geomicrobiology, geochemistry, biotechnology, hydrometallurgy, mineralogy, geology, chemical engineering, and mining engineering are combined. Both are processes that use naturallyoccurring microorganisms to extract metals from sulfidebearing minerals. Bioleaching where microorganisms are used to facilitate the mining of metals from their ores by facilitating their solotion. During bioleaching, metals such as copper, nickel or zinc are oxidized. Bioleaching commonly refers to biomining technology applied to base metals. Metal ores are a finite resource which are in limited supply. Biomining has enabled the transformation of uneconomic resources. Biohydrometallurgy represents an interdisciplinary field where aspects of microbiology especially geomicrobiology, geochemistry, biotechnology, hydrometallurgy, mineralogy, geology, chemical engineering. Biohydrometallurgical processes have been applied for the extraction of copper, gold, uranium, cobalt, zinc, nickel, gallium, molybdenum. Biomining is the process of using microorganisms microbes to extract metals of economic interest from rock ores or mine waste.
This is much cleaner than the traditional heap leaching using cyanide. Bioleaching and biomining pdf microbial leaching bioleaching, biomining. Bioleaching has enabled the transformation of uneconomic resources to reserves, and thus helped to alleviate the challenges related to continually declining ore grades. Pdf the microbial solubilization of metals in acid environments is productively used. Bioleaching principles, mechanisms, and applications for extraction of zinc, nickel, and cobalt are illustrated. These organisms secrete different organic compounds that chelate metals from the environment and bring it back to the cell where they are typically used to coordinate electrons. Although it is a new technique used by the mining industry to extract minerals such as copper, uranium and gold from their ores but nowadays biomining occupies an increasingly important place among the available mining technologies. The advancement in genomics and metagenomics provided enormous opportunities for better understanding the functions of microorganisms residing in waste oresrock bodies or bioleaching environments. A longstanding problem in many mining operations has been the uncontrolled release of frequently occurring metals and acids. During bioleaching, metals such as copper, nickel or zinc are oxidized through microbial action from the waterinsoluble sul. However, within a biooxidation heap, oxygen mass transfer limitations can limit the applicability of this technology, due to the large amount of oxygen. Biomining is the extraction of specific metals from their ores through biological means usually bacteria.
Using biotechnology efficiency of biomining can be increased by using genetically modified microorganisms. Bioleaching is performed mostly by iron and sulfide oxidizing bacteria, or acid producing fungus. Bioleaching andor biooxidation to release the metals step 4. Biomining is the use of microorganisms in the recovery of metals from ores. Valuable metals are commonly bound up in solid minerals. Bioleaching is one of several applications within biohydrometallurgy and several methods are used to recover copper, zinc, lead, arsenic, antimony, nickel, molybdenum, gold, silver, and cobalt. In microbial leaching or bioleaching metals can be extracted from large quantities of low grade ores this process has been used for centuries to recover copper form the drainage water of mines the role of microbes in the bioleaching came into notice some 40 years ago. Some of the types of bacteria used in this process include leptospirillum ferrooxidans, thiobacillus ferrooxidans, and some species of sulfolobus, acidianus, and sulfobacillus. Bioleaching microbial leaching, being an economical and environmental friendly process, is investigated extensively for metal extraction from secondary solid wastes, viz. These ions are leached from the ash using sulfuric acid. It was discovered in the mid 1900s that microorganisms use metals in the cell.
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