Biotechnological route for sustainable recovery of high-value metals

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The UK generates about 500 kilotons of electronic wastes every year of which most of it is exported, landfilled or incinerated. Similarly, for batteries, it is estimated that 339 kilotons of battery waste will be generated in UK by 2040 from electric vehicles only. Currently, pilot/commercial scale tests for battery recycling only exists in Europe. In terms of the UK, this not only increases the recycling costs but deprives the country from the possibility of recovering critical metals. The current recycling route such as pyrometallurgy, hydrometallurgy and direct recycling are mostly applied for recycling metals from Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment (WEEE) and batteries. However, all these techniques have their disadvantages such as high energy usage, capital costs, wastes generated (usually highly hazardous and toxic wastes) at the end of the process. In this project we will develop a novel and sustainable biotechnological process in combination with electrochemical process for bioleaching and recovery of metals from WEEE and batteries. The major tasks in this project will be: 1. Developing novel biotechnological processes (ex. photo-autotropic routes) for the production of various bio-ionic liquids 2. Developing methods for the extraction of bio-ionic liquids. 3. Quantifying and optimising the performance of bio-ionic liquids in bioleaching and electrochemical recovery of valuable metals (e.g. Cu, Ni, Co, Zn and Au).