Effects of cyanide and dissolved oxygen concentration on biological Au recovery

The number of discarded electric devices containing traces of Au is currently increasing. It is desirable to recover this Au because of its valuable physicochemical properties. Au is usually dissolved with relatively high concentrations of cyanide, which is associated with environmental risk. Chromobacterium violaceum is able to produce and detoxify small amounts of cyanide, and may thus be able to recover Au from discarded electric devices. This study investigated the effects of cyanide and dissolved oxygen concentration on biological Au recovery. Cyanide production by C. violaceum was sufficient to dissolve Au, while maintaining a high cyanide concentration did not enhance Au dissolution. Increased oxygen concentration enhanced Au dissolution from 0.04 to 0.16 mmol/l within the test period of 70 h. Electrochemical measurement clarified this phenomenon; the rest potential of Au in the cyanide solution produced by C. violaceum increased from -400 to -200 mV, while in the sterile cyanide solution, it was constant in cyanide concentrations ranging from 0 to 1.5 mmol/l and increased in dissolved oxygen concentrations ranging from 0 to 0.25 mmol/l. Therefore, it was clarified that dissolved oxygen concentration is the main factor affecting the efficiency of cyanide leaching of gold by using bacteria.