Biohydrometallurgy
Encyclopedia
Biohydrometallurgy is a subfield within hydrometallurgy
which includes aspects of biotechnology
.
s, for example, microbial mining, oil recovery, bioleaching, water-treatment and others. Biohydrometallurgy is mainly used to recover certain metals from sulfide ores. It is usually utilized when conventional mining procedures are too expensive or ineffective in recovering a metal such as copper
, gold
, lead
, nickel
and zinc
.
Hydrometallurgy
Hydrometallurgy is part of the field of extractive metallurgy involving the use of aqueous chemistry for the recovery of metals from ores, concentrates, and recycled or residual materials...
which includes aspects of biotechnology
Biotechnology
Biotechnology is a field of applied biology that involves the use of living organisms and bioprocesses in engineering, technology, medicine and other fields requiring bioproducts. Biotechnology also utilizes these products for manufacturing purpose...
.
Definition
- Interdisciplinary field involving processes that
- make use of microbes, usually bacteria and archaea - bio
- mainly take place in aqueous environment – hydro
- deal with metal production and treatment of metal containing materials and solutions – metallurgy
- "Biohydrometallurgy may be defined, in very general terms, as that branch of biotechnology dealing with the study and application of the economic potential of the interactions between the microbial world and the mineral kingdom. It concerns, thus, all those engaged, directly or indirectly, in the exploitation of mineral resources and in environmental protection: geologists, economic geologists, mining engineers, metallurgists, hydrometallurgists, chemists and chemical engineers. In addition to these specialists, there are the microbiologists whose work is indispensable in the design, implementation and running of biohydrometallurgical processes."
Applications
Biohydrometallurgy is used to perform processes involving metalMetal
A metal , is an element, compound, or alloy that is a good conductor of both electricity and heat. Metals are usually malleable and shiny, that is they reflect most of incident light...
s, for example, microbial mining, oil recovery, bioleaching, water-treatment and others. Biohydrometallurgy is mainly used to recover certain metals from sulfide ores. It is usually utilized when conventional mining procedures are too expensive or ineffective in recovering a metal such as copper
Copper
Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu and atomic number 29. It is a ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. Pure copper is soft and malleable; an exposed surface has a reddish-orange tarnish...
, gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
, lead
Lead
Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...
, nickel
Nickel
Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile...
and zinc
Zinc
Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...
.