A Microbial-Centric View of Mobile Phones: Enhancing the Technological Feasibility of Biotechnological Recovery of...

End-of-life (EoL) mobile phones represent a valuable reservoir of critical raw materials at higher concentrations compared to primary ores. This review emphasizes the critical need to transition from single-material recovery approaches to comprehensive, holistic strategies for recycling EoL mobile phones. In response to the call for sustainable techniques with reduced energy consumption and pollutant emissions, biohydrometallurgy emerges as a promising solution. The present work intends to review the most relevant studies focusing on the exploitation of microbial consortia in bioleaching and biorecovery processes. All living organisms need macro- and micronutrients for their metabolic functionalities, including some of the elements contained in mobile phones. By exploring the interactions between microbial communities and the diverse elements found in mobile phones, this paper establishes a microbial-centric perspective by connecting each element of each layer to their role in the microbial cell system. A special focus is dedicated to the concepts of ecodesign and modularity as key requirements in electronics to potentially increase selectivity of microbial consortia in the bioleaching process. By bridging microbial science with sustainable design, this review proposes an innovative roadmap to optimize metal recovery, aligning with the principles of the circular economy and advancing scalable biotechnological solutions for electronic waste management.