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 Bioleaching is the extraction of metals from their ores through the use of living organisms. This is much cleaner than the traditional heap leaching using cyanide. Bioleaching is one of several applications within biohydrometallurgy and several ...

of copper more efficiently in the 1950's

Important Definitions

*Bio: Shortened form of Biology; refers to usage of bacteria. *Hydro: Term referring to the usage of water; process occurs in aqueous environments *Metallurgy: A process involving the separating and refining of metals from other substances; *Bioleaching: Using biological agents (bacteria) to extract metals or soils; general term used to encompass all forms biotechnological forms of extraction (

hydrometallurgy Hydrometallurgy is a technique within the field of extractive metallurgy, the obtaining of metals from their ores. Hydrometallurgy involve the use of aqueous solutions for the recovery of metals from ores, concentrates, and recycled or residual m ...

, biohydrometallurgy,

biomining Biomining is the technique of extracting metals from ores and other solid materials typically using prokaryotes, fungi or plants (phytoextraction also known as phytomining or biomining). These organisms secrete different organic compounds that ...

, etc)

General Information

* Interdisciplinary field involving processes that ** make use of

microbes A microorganism, or microbe,, ''mikros'', "small") and ''organism'' from the el, ὀργανισμός, ''organismós'', "organism"). It is usually written as a single word but is sometimes hyphenated (''micro-organism''), especially in olde ...

, 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." *Biohydrometallurgy was first used more than 300 years ago to recover copper. The uses have evolved to extracting gold, uranium, and other metals.

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

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.

Applications

Biohydrometallurgy is used to perform processes involving

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

s, for example,

microbial mining Biomining is the technique of extracting metals from ores and other solid materials typically using prokaryotes, fungi or plants ( phytoextraction also known as phytomining or biomining). These organisms secrete different organic compounds that ...

, oil recovery,

water-treatment Water treatment is any process that improves the quality of water to make it appropriate for a specific end-use. The end use may be drinking, industrial water supply, irrigation, river flow maintenance, water recreation or many other uses, includ ...

and others. Biohydrometallurgy is mainly used to recover certain metals from

sulfide ore Sulfide (British English also sulphide) is an inorganic anion of sulfur with the chemical formula S2− or a compound containing one or more S2− ions. Solutions of sulfide salts are corrosive. ''Sulfide'' also refers to chemical compounds la ...

s. It is usually utilized when conventional mining procedures are too expensive or ineffective in recovering a metal such as

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkis ...

cobalt Cobalt is a chemical element with the symbol Co and atomic number 27. As with nickel, cobalt is found in the Earth's crust only in a chemically combined form, save for small deposits found in alloys of natural meteoric iron. The free element, pr ...

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

nickel Nickel is a chemical element with symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel is a hard and ductile transition metal. Pure nickel is chemically reactive but large pieces are slow to ...

uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...

and

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

.Kundu et al. 201
"Biochemical Engineering Parameters for Hydrometallurgical Processes: Steps towards a Deeper Understanding"
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References

{{Reflist

External links

BioMineWiki –a wiki on biohydrometallurgy
Metallurgy Biotechnology