BioProLat - Reductive Bioprocessing for Cobalt and Nickel recovery from Laterites in Brazil
Country / Region: Brazil; Topic area: Resource efficiency and sustainable resource technologies
Begin of project: February 1, 2021
End of project: January 31, 2024
Status of project: February 10, 2021
Funding initiative of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) „CLIENT II – International Partnerships for Sustainable Innovations“
https://www.bmbf-client.de/en
https://www.ptj.de/projektfoerderung/fona/client_ii
https://www.fona.de/en/topics/research-for-more-efficiency.php
Goals and content:
The BioProLat project will develop an integrated low-energy, environmentally benign biohydrometallurgical process for metal (Co, Ni) recovery from laterites in Brazil (Fig.1). Economic efficiency and low environmental impact will be achieved by combining innovative bioleaching and efficient metal recovery techniques with the pro-active management of process effluent and residues (Fig.2). BioProLat will increase the recovery of metals for existing mines, transform unexploited ores and limonite stockpiles into valuable resources, thereby unlocking new reserves of raw materials.
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| Fig. 1: Laterites in the mine Barro Alto (Anglo American), federal state Goiás, Brazil. Left: Fresh limonite. Right: Stockpile Source: BGR | ||
Fig. 2: Options for processing of laterites via reductive bioleaching
Source: Marrero et al. 2015 Environ. Sci. Technol. 49, 6674-6682
Literature:
- du Plessis, C.A.; Slabbert, W.; Hallberg, K.B.; Johnson, D.B. Ferredox: a biohydrometallurgical pro-cessing concept for limonitic nickel laterites. Hydrometallurgy 2011, 109, 221–229.
- Johnson, D.B.; du Plessis, C.A.: Biomining in reverse gear: Using bacteria to extract metals from oxidised ores. Miner. Eng. 2015, 75, 2–5.
- Marrero, J.; Coto, O.; Goldmann, S.; Graupner, T.; Schippers, A.: Recovery of nickel and cobalt from laterite tailings by reductive dissolution under aerobic conditions using Acidithiobacillus species. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2015, 49, 6674-6682.
- Marrero, J., O. Coto and A. Schippers. 2020. Metal bioleaching: Fundamentals and geobiotechnical application of aerobic and anaerobic acidophiles. In: Biotechnological Applications of Extremophilic Microorganisms, N. Lee (ed.). De Gruyter, 261-287, ISBN 978-3-11-042773-8.
Partner:
Network partners:
- Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR), Hanover; Coordination
- G.E.O.S. Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH (GEOS)
Cooperation partners in Brazil:
- Serviço Geológico do Brasil – CPRM
- Centro de Tecnologia Mineral (CETEM), Rio de Janeiro
- Brazilian Nickel PLC
Promotion / document number:
Funding number: 033R271A; Keywords: Cobalt, Nickel, Biohydrometallurgy, Biomining, Bioleaching, Bioprocessing, Metal recovery