Biohydrometallurgy is a technique in the world of metallurgy that utilizes biological agents (bacteria) to recover and treat metals such as copper. Modern biohydrometallurgy advances started with the bioleaching of copper more efficiently in the 1950's[1]

Important Definitions

  • Bio: Shortened form of Biology;[2] refers to usage of bacteria.
  • Hydro: Term referring to the usage of water;[3] process occurs in aqueous environments
  • Metallurgy: A process involving the separating and refining of metals from other substances;[4]
  • Bioleaching: Using biological agents (bacteria) to extract metals or soils;[5] general term used to encompass all forms biotechnological forms of extraction (hydrometallurgy, biohydrometallurgy, biomining, etc)

General Information

  • Interdisciplinary field involving processes that
    • make use of microbes, usually bacteria and archaea
    • mainly take place in aqueous environment
    • deal with metal production and treatment of metal containing materials and solutions
  • "Biohydrometallurgy may generally referred to as the branch of biotechnology dealing with the study and application of the economic potential of the interactions between microbes and minerals. 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."[6]
  • Biohydrometallurgy was first used more than 300 years ago to recover copper. The uses have evolved to extracting gold, uranium, and other metals.[7]


Hydrometallurgy

Hydrometallurgy refers to a specific process involving the chemical properties of water to create an aqueous solution for metal extraction through a series of chemical reactions[8]

Biohydrometallurgy as a Science

Biohydrometallurgy represents the overlap of the world of microorganisms to the process of hydrometallurgy. The usage of microorganisms can be used for recovery and extraction of metals. [9]

Applications

Biohydrometallurgy is used to perform processes involving metals, 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, cobalt, gold, lead, nickel, uranium and zinc.[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Komnitsas, Kostas (July 2019). Recent Advances in Hydro- and Biohydrometallurgy. Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute. pp. ix. ISBN 978-3-03921-299-6. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  2. ↑ "bio, n.2". OED Online. Oxford University Press. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
  3. ↑ "hydro-, comb. form". OED Online. Oxford University Press. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
  4. ↑ "metallurgy, n". OED Online. Oxford University Press. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Bioleaching". Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary. Merriam-Webster. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
  6. ↑ Rossi, G. (1990). Biohydrometallurgy, Hamburg: McGraw-Hill. ISBN 3-89028-781-6
  7. ↑ Blanchfield, Deirdre (January 21, 2018). "Biohydrometallurgy". galeapps.gale.com. Environmental Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2020-04-12.
  8. ↑ Free, Michael (October 7, 2013). Hydrometallurgy : Fundamentals and Applications. John Wiley & Sons, Incorporated. pp. 13–14. ISBN 9781118230770. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  9. ↑ Free, Michael (2014). Treatise on Process Metallurgy. Elsevier. pp. 983–993. ISBN 9780080969879. Retrieved April 26, 2021.
  10. ↑ Kundu et al. 2014 "Biochemical Engineering Parameters for Hydrometallurgical Processes: Steps towards a Deeper Understanding"
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