Microbial leaching bioleaching, biomining microbial leaching is the process by which metals are dissolved from ore bearing rocks using microorganisms. The maximum specific growth rate max and doubling time t d were obtained 0. A 4854ton plantscale heap bioleaching process achieved sustained leaching with a uranium leaching efficiency of 88. After 146 days of performance, the slag uranium leaching. Column bioleaching of uranium embedded in granite porphyry by a mesophilic acidophilic consortium. Nuclear fuel cycle extractingg uranium from its ores. Uranium bioleaching stirred tank bioreactor experimental design acidthiobacillus ferrooxidans abstract in this work, the volumetric oxygen mass transfer coef. Since then technology and manufacturing has improved and newer methods became. Table of contentsmechanism of thorium leachingprecipitate formationbacterial activitysulphuric acid consumption mechanism of uranium leaching. The leach liquor collected at the bottom of the ore is processed further for metal recovery. As the uranium price has risen in recent times, so opportunities are increasing for the recovery of uranium from less conventional resources such as phosphates and fossil fuels.
Thus biomining has emerge as an important branch of biotechnology in recent years. But they generate feiii from pyrite and soluble feii. We evaluated uranium bioleaching from lowgrade, granitetype uranium ore using mixed acidophilic microbes from uranium mine leachate. Column bioleaching experiment of low grade uranium ore from. Find support for a specific problem on the support section of our website. Percolator leaching details of laboratory test methods are described 4. A study of the bioleaching of a spanish uranium ore. In south africa, uranium was produced as a byproduct of gold production in the witwatersrand basin, but after the collapse of the uranium market in the 1980s, the. Bioleaching is a process that employs microorganisms to dissolve leach sulphide minerals. Table 2 lists the existing commercial stirredtank bioleach. The model can be applied to other bioleaching processes under the same conditions. In this paper, a continued column bioleaching system has been established for leaching a certain uranium ore which contains high fluoride.
Uranium plays an important role in generation of nuclear power. The bioleaching of uranium achieved a maximum extraction of 7515 % ww after 55 days. Good fits of the model are obtained, while the values of the parameters are within the range expected. A comparison of the uranium recovery from lowgrade ore by bioleaching and acid leaching 7 uranium ores in poland contain about 2501100 mg kg1 u. This is an indirect leaching process since the microbial attack is not on uranium ore directly but on the iron oxidant. Meeting the feed supply of uranium fuel in the present and planned nuclear reactors calls for huge demand of uranium, which at the current rate of production, shows a mismatch. In direct bioleaching minerals which are susceptible to oxidation undergoes direct enzymatic attack by the microorganisms. This process of removing uranium from the ore is called uranium milling. Microbiological leaching has been use as an alternative approach to conventional hydrometallurgical methods of uranium s extraction. Pdf sequential bioleaching of phosphorus and uranium. The waste ore sample was crushed to 25 mm, the ore uranium grade is 0. Pdf bioleaching of uranium from egyptian rocks using. In recent years, there has been an upsurge in uranium exploration across the globe, driven by a renewed interest in nuclear energy and higher uranium prices.
Microbial leaching of uranium ore hadi hamidian islamic azad university, qaemshahr branch iran 1. Bioleaching is performed mostly by iron and sulfide oxidizing bacteria, or acid producing fungus. Some of the fungi associated with bioleaching are aspergillus niger and. The feasibility of bacterial recovery of uranium from the low grade black schists occurring in the okcheon district, south korea, was investigated. Bioleaching is one of latest technologiesthe used to recover many important metals like copper, zinc, lead, uranium, arsenic, antimony, nickel, molybdenum, gold, silver and cobalt from their ores. Content novel technologies developed and implemented by mintek in. Ferric sulphate and sulfuric acid can be produced by t. The organism thiobacillus ferrooxidans is capable of producing sulfuric acid and ferric sulfate from the pyrite fes 2 within the uranium ore. Bioleaching of nonsulfidic ores by layering of waste sulfides and elemental sulfur, colonized by acidithiobacillus spp. As a key substance for production of the fuel for nuclear reactors uranium, more common element in the earths crust occurring in rocks, soil, rivers and ocean waters, has to be extracted from the raw material in complex hydrometallurgical process involving many separation steps. Sulfidic iron ores can be added to speed up the process and provide a. Like many other minerals, uranium was deposited on land by volcanic action, dissolved by rainfall, and in some places, carried into underground formations.
With the enriched culture of aferrooxidans adapted on feii at ph 2. Most uranium mills use wet grinding, and the resulting slurry is fed to a leaching circuit where sulphuric acid is added. In situ leach works by artificially dissolving minerals occurring naturally in a solid state. Bioleaching is the extraction of metals from their ores through the use of living organisms. Recovery of uranium from uranium residue by alkaline leaching by bundjoko kweto supervisor. The biomining or bioleaching of minerals is a process by which metals such as copper, gold and uranium are solubilized from the ores containing them by the action of acidophilic microorganisms. Limin zhang, hailiang dong, yan liu, liang bian, xi wang, ziqi. Sep 26, 2019 the atsdr toxicological profile succinctly characterizes the toxicologic and adverse health effects information for the hazardous substance described here. Three fungal strains were found to be capable of bioleaching rare earth elements from monazite, a rare earth phosphate mineral, utilizing the monazite as a phosphate source and releasing rare earth cations into solution. Due to the degree of enrichment of uranium that is found in the uranium residue originating from the production of molybdenum 99, the south african nuclear energy corporation necsa intends to dissolve the residue and recover the uranium content. A 4500 ton industrial heap was constructed in the waste ore dump site.
Microbial leaching is the process by which metals are dissolved from ore bearing rocks using microorganisms. Biomining will become more important as highgrade surface. The conditions maintained during the bioleaching at ph 2. Uranium mining an introduction page 7 1 uranium mining an introduction 1. Whereas, the highest percentage of uranium released by both fungi was obtained at 1 % wv, in this concentr ation the released uranium being 75 and 81. Rhizopus arrhizus is another bacterium that can extract uranium from low grade uranium ores. Uranium is a naturally occurring metallic element that has been present in the earths crust since formation of the planet. Research article continued multicolumns bioleaching for low. Minerals 2019, 9, 331 3 of 11 another industrially applied hydrometallurgical process for uranium is bioleaching 1822.
The leaching of uranium in the bioreactor improved the dissolution rate by reducing the time from 40 days in shake flask as per our. Bioleaching an alternate uranium ore processing technology for india. Bioleaching of nonsulfidic ores such as pitchblende also uses ferric iron as an oxidant e. An investigation into bioleaching of uranium and rare earth elements from quartzpebble conglomerate ores from elliot lake, ontario by aimee lynn williamson a thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of doctor of philosophy phd in material sciences the school of graduate studies laurentian university. Bioleaching and biomining pdf microbial leaching bioleaching, biomining. This process has also been tested for bioleaching copper from chalcopyrite concentrate using thermophilic microorganisms 22. Bioleaching application of biotechnology in mining industry.
Recovery uranium from uraniumbearing waste ore using heap. Heap bioleaching of uranium from lowgrade granitetype. The six advisors, three observers and four agency staff members brought to the discussions a wealth of experience in government and in the minerals industry dealing with uranium. Some of the types of bacteria used in this process include leptospirillum ferrooxidans, thiobacillus ferrooxidans, and some species of sulfolobus, acidianus, and sulfobacillus. The efforts culminated into the successful operation of large scale trials at the 100kg and 2ton level column uranium bioleaching that was carried out at the site of ucil, jaduguda yielding a. Natural bioleaching has been taking place for almost as long as the history of the world, but it is only in the last few decades that we have realized that bioleaching is responsible for acid production in some mining wastes, and that this bacterial activity can. Column bioleaching experiment of low grade uranium ore. Continued multicolumns bioleaching for low grade uranium. Mar 09, 2010 bioleaching of uranium was carried out with turamdih ore sample procured from uranium corporation of india limited, jaduguda. Review on bioleaching of uranium from lowgrade ore journal of. The opportunities for employing techniques aimed at. Sequential bioleaching of phosphorus and uranium article pdf available in minerals 96.
Either use low grade ores rework mine trailings or to avoid the extraction of large amounts of ores to the surface. Bioleaching of lowgrade uranium ore using acidithiobacillus. Bioleaching is a simple and effective technology for metal extraction from low grade ores. Bioleaching of uranium was carried out with turamdih ore sample procured from uranium corporation of india limited, jaduguda. During 1952 and 1953, the plant at urgeirica started a uranium heap leaching process on a commercial scale. Uranium enrichment methods university of ljubljana. Methods of metal recovery by microorganisms 2 methods.
Commercial application of bioleaching of uranium from lowgrade ores has been practised since the 1960s. The bioleaching of uranium from turamdih ore was carried out in the 2 l bioreactor using enriched adapted culture of a. Bioleaching of rare earth elements from monazite sand. Research article continued multicolumns bioleaching for low grade uranium ore at a certain uranium deposit gongxinchen,zhanxuesun,andyajieliu state key laboratory breeding base of nuclear resources and environment, east china university of technology. Uranium is collected and dried as uranium oxide u 3 o 8 concentrate. In situ leach isl mining of uranium june 2009 z most uranium mining in the usa and kazakhstan is now by in situ leach methods, also known as in situ recovery isr. Bioleaching of uranium from egyptian rocks using native actinomycete strains. The feasibility of heap bioleaching recovery of uranium from the one uranium mine deposit uranium bearing waste ore, located in south of china, were investigated. About 5% of the world copper production is obtained through bioleaching. Mechanism of uranium bioleaching there has been a longstanding debate as to whether the microbially assisted leaching of uranium ore is by direct or indirect mechanism. During this process, bacteria are subjected to different kinds of environmental stresses such as temperature or ph changes and lack of essential. Pdf column bioleaching of uranium embedded in granite. This microorganism extracts around 100mg uranium per one lire solution in less than 10 seconds.
Fungi have not shown a broad area of examples in the field of bioleaching. Bioleaching of uranium pdf furthermore, control tests were performed to demonstrate the effect of a. For biomining specialized microorganisms are used in order to recover valuable metals from ores via bioleaching. Bioleaching of uranium is an indirect process since the microbial action is on the iron oxidant, and not directly on the uranium.
Although bioleaching was used unknowingly by the ancients to extract metals principally copper from ores, the development of modern commercial bioleaching processes is relatively new. Insitu leach for uranium has expanded rapidly since the 1990s, and is now the predominant method for mining uranium, accounting for 45 percent of the uranium mined worldwide in 2012. Andrej trkov ljubljana, may, 2010 abstract uranium enrichment is a process, that was first tested in the early 1940s in the united states for production of fissionable material for the atomic bomb. Two group column bioleaching experiments column ab were carried on in order to investigate. Optimization of operating parameters and rate of uranium. The bacterial strain that was used in the leaching experiments was isolated from the jaduguda mine water sample. Bioleaching of uranium pdf united pdf comunication. Uranium is a heavy metal that is weakly radioactive and occurs naturally in forms with very long halflives. Uranium mining constitutes the first step of the nuclear fuel cycle and its used for military and civilian applications. Biomining is a technique of extracting metals from ores and other solid materials typically using. This ore is processed at mills using mechanical and chemical measures to separate the uranium from the remainder of the ore.
In industry, bioleaching of uranium is still facing many problems such as site space, high cost of production, and limited industrial facilities. Application of united nations framework classification 2009. Bioleaching is the process by which metals are dissolved from ore bearing rocks using microorganisms. Future sopubilization production of uranium from the stanrock mine was about 50 kg u3 o8 whereas 60 kg u3 o8 was at present, bioleaching is being used commercially produced in the milliken mine after improvement of only for the recovery of copper, uranium and gold. The studies involved extraction of uranium using acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans derived from the uranium mine samples. In the leaching of uranium, the bacteria do not directly attack the uranium mineral. A new mining concept for extraction metals from deep ore deposits.
The research presented here focused on phosphoruscontaining apatite ores with uranium impurities. Two group column bioleaching experiments column ab were carried on in order to investigate uranium. New rate expressions are used for the iron precipitation and uranium leaching rates. Comparative performance of uranium bioleaching from low. A joint report by the oecd nuclear energy agency and the international atomic energy agency uranium 2014. Following the introduction of acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans, 80% of the uranium could be extracted from the schists, which contain 0. Bioleaching has lots of advantages compared with traditional heap leaching.
Efficiency of bioleaching was studied by varying parameters like pulp density. Xiangshan uranium deposit is the largest volcanic rock type uranium ore in china. In the industrial microbial leaching process popularly known as bioleachinglow grade ore is dumped in a large pile the leach dump and a dilute sulfuric acid solution ph 2 is percolated down through the pile. Uranium may have deleterious effects at uranium minerals are classified according to their influence on extractive metallurgy. Uranium bioleaching in recent years, there has been an upsurge in uranium exploration across the globe, driven by a renewed interest in nuclear energy and higher uranium prices. Pdf bioleaching an alternate uranium ore processing. Bioreactor leaching of uranium from a low grade indian. Evolution of bioleaching bioleach technology first investigated in the mid of 1980s at kings college, london, england for the. Uranium leaching with sulphuric acid is a complex process governed by chemical dissolution, and the oxidation of uranium. Bioleaching where microorganisms are used to facilitate the mining of metals from their ores by facilitating their solotion. Ppt biomining and bioleaching powerpoint presentation. It is controlled by surface etching, diffusion, and mass transfer within the ore. Bioleaching of uranium from low grade black schists by.
In this study an attempt was made to demonstrate the relationship between the shrinkingcore model and the experimental data by plotting the fractional conversion of uranium against time. Continued multicolumns bioleaching for low grade uranium ore. Application of united nations framework classification. For instance thousand tons of uranium ore must be handled in other than bioleaching processes, to obtain one ton of uranium. For the last 10 centuries, microorganisms have assisted in the recovery of copper dissolved in drainage from water. A comparison of the uranium recovery from lowgrade ore by. Drinking uraniumcontaining water on a daily basis is considered to be unacceptable. Metal recovery from sulfide minerals is based on the activity of chemolithotrophic bacteria, mainly thiobacillus ferrooxidans and t. The chemicalore solution undergoes further treatments to separate the uranium as a precipitate. Dr dr groot a dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of master of applied sciences metallurgy department of materials science and metallurgical engineering faculty of engineering, built environment and. Industrialscale bioleaching of uranium is carried out by spraying stope walls with acid mine drainage and the in situ irrigation of fractured. Pdf microbial extraction of uranium from ores researchgate. Additional capabilities include the bioleaching of metals from sulfide materials, phosphate ore bioprocessing, and the bioconcentration of metals.
The uranium mills produce yellow cake, a powder containing mostly u. Besides the indirect leaching of uranium there is some evidence that t. Bioleaching where microorganisms are used to facilitate the mining of metals. For recovery of material occurring naturally in solution, see. Watkin, role of microorganisms in bioleaching of rare earth elements from primary and secondary resources, applied microbiology and biotechnology, 10.
To produce the same amount of uranium, therefore, millsize can vary by a factor of 10. Best known are the in situ leaching operations in the underground uranium mines in the elliot lake district of canada including the stanrock, milliken and denison mines. Uranium ore reserves an instruction manual, technical reports series no. Uranium ore from the narwapahar mines, jharkhand, india 0. Application of united nations framework classification 2009 unfc2009 for uranium resources uranium ore processing i. Mineralogy and uranium leaching of ores from triassic. It finds application in the extraction of metals from their ores. Bioleaching is a simple and effective technology for metal extraction from lowgrade ores and mineral concentrates. Insitu leaching isl, also called insitu recovery isr or solution mining, is a mining process used to recover minerals such as copper and uranium through boreholes drilled into a deposit, in situ. Insitu bioleaching developments on low grade ores witwatersrand cil tailings tailings dumps compacted, water and air permeabilities are low suitable for insitu bioleaching irrigation with dilute acid solution to reduce ph suitable for bacterial oxidation instead of mno 2 tailings washed after time to recover uranium.
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