Biosorption of Rare Earth Elements by Different Microorganisms in Acidic Solutions

Autor: Anja Breuker, Simon F. Ritter, Axel Schippers
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Zdroj: Metals, Vol 10, Iss 7, p 954 (2020)
Druh dokumentu: article
ISSN: 2075-4701
DOI: 10.3390/met10070954
Popis: Acidic solutions from metal bioleaching processes usually contain mixtures of metals in different concentrations which need to be separated and concentrated in downstream processing. Aim of this study was to explore and compare biosorption of rare earth elements (REE) by different microorganisms in acidic solutions. Biosorption of REE by bacteria and fungi showed element selective biosorption. The gram-positive bacterium Bacillus subtilis showed a higher selectivity to ytterbium (Yb) and lutetium (Lu) than the gram-negative bacteria Leisingera methylohalidivorans and Phaeobacter inhibens. In contrast, the tested fungi (Catenulostroma chromoblastomyces, Pichia sp.) showed a preference for the middle rare earth elements. Algae exhibited a low biosorption performance. Additionally, for B. subtilis and one yeast (Pichia sp.), better results were achieved with living than dead biomass. This study compares for the first time biosorption of different microorganisms at standardized conditions at low pH und application related conditions.
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