Precious Metal Recovery from Wastewater Using Bio-Based Techniques.
Sehliselo Ndlovu1, Anil Kumar2
1School of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. sehliselo.ndlovu@wits.ac.za.
Advances in Biochemical Engineering/Biotechnology
|June 14, 2024
Summary
Precious metal recovery from wastewater is gaining traction. Bio-based technologies offer a cost-effective solution for extracting valuable metals from low-concentration solutions, contributing to the circular economy.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Materials Science
- Biotechnology
Background:
- Metal recovery from waste is increasing for resource diversification and economic benefits.
- Research on precious metal recovery primarily focuses on solid waste, with limited attention to wastewater.
- Wastewater presents challenges for metal recovery due to low concentrations and the need for cost-effective technologies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore bio-based technologies for precious metal recovery from wastewater.
- To compare bio-based methods with traditional techniques for metal recovery.
- To investigate the recovery of other valuable products from wastewater and discuss large-scale application challenges.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on bio-based technologies for metal recovery from wastewater.
- Comparative analysis of bio-based versus traditional metal recovery techniques.
- Exploration of potential by-product recovery and circular economy contributions.
Main Results:
- Bio-based technologies are emerging as viable alternatives for recovering metals from low-concentration wastewater.
- These methods offer potential for economic value extraction beyond just precious metals.
- Wastewater treatment can be enhanced by integrating valuable product recovery, supporting a circular economy.
Conclusions:
- Bio-based technologies show promise for cost-effective precious metal recovery from wastewater.
- Integrating valuable by-product recovery from wastewater can enhance economic viability and sustainability.
- Further research is needed to address challenges for the large-scale implementation of these bio-based technologies.
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