BioElectrochemical LIthium rEcoVEry (BELIEVE)

对便携式电子设备中的锂离子电池（LiB）以及固定应用和电动车辆中的能量存储的需求日益增加。锂（Li）是一种高科技金属，仅在全球少数几个地方发现，其提取成本高，能耗高，污染环境。对电池的需求导致使用过的和用过的LiB的数量不断增加，其中含有大量的Li。目前的锂回收和再循环方法复杂、昂贵且对环境有害，因此有必要开发有效的替代方法。以生物技术为基础的金属回收方法是整合和/或取代现有技术的一种有前途的方法。这些方法使用微生物的代谢能力来进行通常使用物理化学方法进行的过程。其中一种基于生物的策略是利用某些微生物物种将电子转移到固体外部电子受体（如金属或电极）的能力，这种方法被称为微生物电化学技术。该项目旨在设计和优化生物电化学系统（BES），以回收高纯度的锂。在BES中，如微生物燃料电池（MFC），电能是由阳极中有机化合物（例如，废水）。微生物降解营养物质并将电子转移到阳极;电子循环到阴极，产生电流。在阴极中，电子用于还原电子受体（例如，金属）。在本项目中，我们将设计和分析一个从实际锂硼废物中回收锂的微生物电化学系统，重点关注影响该过程的主要方面，例如微生物及其能力，系统的设计，（配置、电极类型、催化剂、金属浓度等），以及产生增加的Li回收的产率和效率的操作条件。我们将筛选不同的微生物物种和群落，以确定它们从废物中去除锂的能力，并在不同的反应器设计（微生物燃料电池，微生物电化学电池，微生物脱盐电池和管式反应器）中对其进行测试。我们将进行详细的生命周期评估和技术经济分析，以评估该过程的环境和经济影响，这将使我们能够探索经济规模运营的可行性，并了解生物基金属回收在循环经济中的作用。将实验方法与可持续性评估相结合，将使人们对该系统有一个清晰的了解，并制定扩大规模的战略。该项目将提供基于生物技术的最佳解决方案，以从LiB废物中获得高纯度和高产量的Li。回收的锂可以返回到LiB中，并通过对其质量的检测来证明，以完成锂的经济循环。

There is an increasing demand for Li-ion batteries (LiB) in portable electronic devices and energy storage in stationary applications and electric vehicles. Lithium (Li) is a high-tech metal found only in a few locations worldwide, and its extraction is costly, energy-demanding and pollutes the environment. The demand for batteries has resulted in an ever-increasing amount of used and spent LiB, containing large amounts of Li. Current Li recovery and recycling methods are complex, expensive, and environmentally damaging, so it is necessary to develop efficient alternative methods. Biotechnology-based methods for recovering metals represent a promising approach to integrating and/or replacing current technologies. Those methods use the metabolic capabilities of microorganisms to carry out processes typically done using physicochemical approaches. One such bio-based strategy is the exploitation of the ability of some microbial species to transfer electrons to solid external electron acceptors, such as metals or electrodes, an approach known as microbial electrochemical technology. This project aims to design and optimise a bioelectrochemical system (BES) to recover high purity Li.In BESs such as microbial fuel cells (MFCs), electrical energy is produced from the microbial degradation in the anode of organic compounds (e.g., wastewaters). Microorganisms degrade nutrients and transfer electrons to the anode; the electrons circulate to the cathode, generating an electric current. In the cathode, the electrons are used to reduce an electron acceptor (e.g., metals). When the cathode is colonised by microorganism able to transfer the electrons to Li, high purity recyclable Li can be recovered from waste streams.In this project, we will design and analyse a microbial electrochemical system for the recovery of Li from actual LiB waste, focusing on the main aspects affecting the process, such as the microorganisms and their capabilities, the design of the system (configuration, types of electrodes, catalysts, metal concentration, etc.), and the operational conditions that produce increased yields and efficiencies of Li recovery. We will screen diverse microbial species and communities for their capability to remove Li from the waste and test them in different reactor designs (microbial fuel cell, microbial electrochemical cell, microbial desalination cell and tubular reactors). We will conduct a detailed life cycle assessment and techno-economic analysis to evaluate the environmental and economic implications of the process, which will allow us to explore the feasibility of economic scales of operation and understand the role of bio-based metal recycling in the circular economy. The combination of experimental approaches with sustainability assessment will provide a clear understanding of the system and generate strategies for scale-up. The project will deliver an optimal biotechnology-based solution for attaining high purity and yield of Li from LiB waste. Recovered Li can be returned to LiB, which will be proven by testing its quality to complete the economic circularity of Li.