Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-20-2014
Keywords
bioleaching, chemoorganotrophic, fungi, bacteria, olivine, nickel, ultrasonic treatment, mineral carbonation
Abstract
Bioleaching of olivine, a natural nickel-containing magnesium-iron-silicate, was conducted by applying chemoorganotrophic bacteria and fungi. The tested fungus, Aspergillus niger, leached substantially more nickel from olivine than the tested bacterium, Paenibacillus mucilaginosus. Aspergillus niger also outperformed two other fungal species: Humicola grisae and Penicillium chrysogenum. Contrary to traditional acid leaching, the microorganisms leached nickel preferentially over magnesium and iron. An average selectivity factor of 2.2 was achieved for nickel compared to iron. The impact of ultrasonic conditioning on bioleaching was also tested, and it was found to substantially increase nickel extraction by A. niger. This is credited to an enhancement in the fungal growth rate, to the promotion of particle degradation, and to the detachment of the stagnant biofilm around the particles. Furthermore, ultrasonic conditioning enhanced the selectivity of A. niger for nickel over iron to a value of 3.5. Pre-carbonating the olivine mineral, to enhance mineral liberation and change metal speciation, was also attempted, but did not result in improvement as a consequence of the mild pH of chemoorganotrophic bioleaching.
Faculty
Faculty of Applied Science & Technology
School
School of Chemical and Environmental Sciences
Version
Publisher's version
Peer Reviewed/Refereed Publication
yes
Terms of Use
Terms of Use for Works posted in SOURCE.
Copyright
© 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Original Publication Citation
Chiang, Y. W., Santos, R. M., Van Audenaerde, A., Monballiu, A., Van Gerven, T., & Meesschaert, B. (2014). Chemoorganotrophic bioleaching of olivine for nickel recovery. Minerals, 4(2), 553-564. doi:10.3390/min4020553
SOURCE Citation
Chiang, Yi Wai; Santos, Rafael M.; Van Audenaerde, Aldo; Monballiu, Annick; Van Gerven, Tom; and Meesschaert, Boudewijn, "Chemoorganotrophic Bioleaching of Olivine for Nickel Recovery" (2014). Faculty Publications and Scholarship. 2.
https://source.sheridancollege.ca/fast_chem_publ/2
Comments
12 April 2016: At the time of publication, Sheridan College author Rafael Santos was associated with Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium.