A classical modelling of abandoned mine tailings' bioleaching by an autochthonous microbial culture

Medina-Díaz, Hassay Lizeth; Acosta, Irene; Muñoz, Martı́n; Bellido, Francisco Javier López; Villaseñor, José; Llanos, Javier; Rodríguez, Luis Carbajal; Fernández-Morales, Francisco Jesús

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.116251

Cited by 8 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Bioleaching refers then to the process of extracting metals from ores using natural materials present in the environment, such as water, air, and microorganisms [ 20 ]. Essentially, bioleaching involves exploiting the capacity of specific bacteria and archaea, which occur naturally, to catalyze the oxidation of minerals for commercial purposes [ 21 ], or also for the treatment of mining waste or remediation, where microorganisms are used for the elimination of toxic metals and metalloids [ 22 , 23 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bioleaching Modeling—A Review

et al. 2023

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The leaching of minerals is one of the main unit operations in the metal dissolution process, and in turn it is a process that generates fewer environmental liabilities compared to pyrometallurgical processes. As an alternative to conventional leaching methods, the use of microorganisms in mineral treatment processes has become widespread in recent decades, due to advantages such as the non-production of emissions or pollution, energy savings, low process costs, products compatible with the environment, and increases in the benefit of low-grade mining deposits. The purpose of this work is to introduce the theoretical foundations associated with modeling the process of bioleaching, mainly the modeling of mineral recovery rates. The different models are collected from models based on conventional leaching dynamics modeling, based on the shrinking core model, where the oxidation process is controlled by diffusion, chemically, or by film diffusion until bioleaching models based on statistical analysis are presented, such as the surface response methodology or the application of machine learning algorithms. Although bioleaching modeling (independent of modeling techniques) of industrial (or large-scale mined) minerals is a fairly developed area, bioleaching modeling applied to rare earth elements is a field with great growth potential in the coming years, as in general bioleaching has the potential to be a more sustainable and environmentally friendly mining method than traditional mining methods.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bioleaching Modeling—A Review

et al. 2023

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Effect of hydrochar-doping on the performance of carbon felt as anodic electrode in microbial fuel cells

Delgado,

Tapia,

Muñoz-Morales

et al. 2024

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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In this study, the feasibility of using hydrochars as anodic doping materials in microbial fuel cells (MFCs) was investigated. The feedstock used for hydrochar synthesis was metal-polluted plant biomass from an abandoned mining site. The hydrochar obtained was activated by pyrolysis at 500 °C in N2 atmosphere. Under steady state conditions, the current exerted by the MFCs, as well as the cyclic voltammetry and polarization curves, showed that the activated hydrochar-doped anodes exhibited the best performance in terms of power and current density generation, 0.055 mW/cm2 and 0.15 mA/cm2, respectively. These values were approximately 30% higher than those achieved with non-doped or doped with non-activated hydrochar anodes which can be explained by the highly graphitic carbonaceous structures obtained during the hydrochar activation that reduced the internal resistance of the system. These results suggest that the activated hydrochar materials could significantly enhance the electrochemical performance of bioelectrochemical systems. Moreover, this integration will not only enhance the energy generated by MFCs, but also valorize metal polluted plant biomass within the frame of the circular economy.

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