Bacteria breakthrough: Microbes help mine rare metals from old battery waste

https://interestingengineering.com ^ | Aug 26, 2024 | Jijo Malayil

[Jonty30]

Bacteria can synthesize metal nanoparticles as a detox method, converting metal atoms into nanoparticles to protect themselves from poisoning.

Researchers have proposed a method using bacteria to extract rare metals essential for the development of green technology.

A team named The Horsfall Group at the University of Edinburgh aims to use microorganisms to extract lithium, cobalt, manganese, and other minerals from old batteries and discarded electronic equipment.

Several bacteria are able to decrease metal cations and generate precipitates of zero-valence, pure metals as a survival strategy against dangerous concentrations of metal cations.

[Jonty30]

To my knowledge, this is not vaporware. It's perfectly doable. The idea of using insects and bacteria to gather elements or produce chemical products is already happening in many industries.

[Jonty30]

You could set them free in a landfill or oilsand tailings pond and they will happily eat them up and they can be processed to release the metals in question.

[BenLurkin]

What could possibly go wrong.

[Pete from Shawnee Mission]

Its being done with plants and bacterium, but probably not on a large scale.

bacterium-that-eats-heavy-metal-and-poops-gold

nickel-eating-plant-that-could-radically-change-mining

The assessment of cadmium, chromium, copper, and nickel tolerance and bioaccumulation by shrub plant Tetraena qataranse

[Deaf Smith]

How does one begin to recycle large masses of lithium batteries without runaway ignition?

[Jonty30]

The bacteria would eat the lithium and nothing else. Then other bacteria would consume the other metals, in accordance to their specialties.

[Deaf Smith]

How does one transport and store the lithium batteries prior to processing?

Just In Time shipping so as to not burn down the plant?

Leave the risk to transportation companies; truck/rail?

[Brooklyn Attitude]

The use of bacteria and other microbes for mining is not new. I knew someone in the 80s who worked with thiobacillus species to improve mineral recovery and the cleanup of mine waste.

[Openurmind]

They already use the method to extract gold and silver.

[Jonty30]

I’m hoping they can use it on tailing ponds and other residue from the oil sands. Maybe turn the residue that is piled up into oil, as well as all the metals that were part of the oil sands.

[fini]

About 20 years ago, I was given a gallon of liquid microbes that were designed to eat oil. I had little faith in it, but I did have an oil spot from a car that leaked oil on the driveway. The spot was very black and encrusted. I tried it and it worked extremely well (The spot with the heavy oil spot was perfectly cleaned of oil.), so I used it up to clean my whole driveway.

Unfortunately, the label fell off and by the time I used up that gallon I could not remember who made it.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Ithaca, my mule, poops ‘gold’ for the garden, LOL!

[SunkenCiv]

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