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REVIEW article

Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol.
Sec. Industrial Biotechnology
Volume 12 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2024.1528992

Fundamentals of bio-based technologies for selective metal recovery from bio-leachates and liquid waste streams

Provisionally accepted
Anna Sieber Anna Sieber 1,2*Sabine Spiess Sabine Spiess 2Wadih Youssef Rassy Wadih Youssef Rassy 3Dominik Schild Dominik Schild 3Thomas Rieß Thomas Rieß 3Shalini Singh Shalini Singh 4Rohan Jain Rohan Jain 4Nora Schönberger Nora Schönberger 4Franziska Lederer Franziska Lederer 4Klemens Kremser Klemens Kremser 5,6Georg M Guebitz Georg M Guebitz 5,6
  • 1 Other, Linz, Austria
  • 2 K1-MET GmbH, Linz, Austria
  • 3 IMC University of Applied Sciences Krems, Krems an der Donau, Lower Austria, Austria
  • 4 Helmholtz Institute Freiberg for Resource Technology, Helmholtz Center Dresden-Rossendorf, Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres (HZ), Freiberg, Lower Saxony, Germany
  • 5 Department of Agrobiotechnology, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Tulln, Austria
  • 6 Austrian Centre of Industrial Biotechnology (ACIB), Graz, Styria, Austria

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The number of metal-containing waste streams resulting from electronic end-of life products, metallurgical by-products, and mine tailings to name but a few, is increasing worldwide. In recent decades, the potential to exploit these waste streams as valuable secondary resources to meet the high demand of critical and economically important raw materials has become more prominent. In this review, fundamental principles of bio-based metal recovery technologies are discussed focusing on microbial metabolism-dependent and metabolism-independent mechanisms as sustainable alternatives to conventional chemical metal recovery methods. In contrast to previous reviews which have partially addressed this topic, a special focus will be given on how fundamental principles of bio-based recovery technologies can influence the selectivity and specificity of metal recovery. While conventional methods for metal recovery show benefits in terms of economic affordability, bio-based recovery technologies offer advantages in terms of efficiency and environmentally friendliness. Modifications and adaptations in the processes of biosorption, bioaccumulation and bioelectrochemical systems are highlighted, further emphasizing the application of metal-binding peptides and siderophores to increase selectivity in the recovery of metals. Single metal solutions or mixtures with a low complexity have been the focus of previous studies and reviews, but this does not reflect the nature of complex industrial effluents. Therefore, key challenges that arise when dealing with complex polymetallic solutions are addressed and the focus is set on optimizing bio-based technologies to recover metals efficiently and selectively from bio-leachates or liquid waste streams.

    Keywords: Selective Metal Recovery, Secondary resources, bio-based recovery technologies, bioaccumulation, Bioelectrochemical systems, Biosorption, Metal-binding peptides, Siderophores

    Received: 15 Nov 2024; Accepted: 24 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Sieber, Spiess, Rassy, Schild, Rieß, Singh, Jain, Schönberger, Lederer, Kremser and Guebitz. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Anna Sieber, Other, Linz, Austria

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.