Biological recovery of metals from lithium ion batteries (LIBs) and synthesis of nanoparticles

Horsfall团队正在设计细菌，以便在废弃的锂离子电池（LiBs）无法再利用时，从它们中回收金属。通过使用生物学进步提供的新工具和技术，我们将设计具有选择性地以纳米颗粒形式回收金属的能力的微生物，为回收过程增加价值。alaskensis Desulfovibrio可以通过产生纳米颗粒来回收多种金属，但它不能区分Co和Ni，这两种金属都可能存在于电池渗滤液中。因此，本博士项目将通过D. alaskensis的工程研究Ni的选择性回收。该项目还将研究利用假单胞菌从lib中回收另外两种重要金属Al和Li。此外，已知生物纳米颗粒的元素组成和物理化学性质因细菌种类和使用条件的不同而不同。因此，生物源镍、锂和铝纳米颗粒的生产将在不同的因素（例如，好氧/厌氧，介质组成，温度）下进行研究。本项目将研究天然细菌金属耐药系统，其基因操纵的潜力及其应用的机会。这可能涉及启动子和核糖体结合位点与报告基因的特征，金属纳米颗粒合成途径中蛋白质的优化以及对生物体表现出的金属抗性的最终影响的研究。选择性回收Ni、Al和Li的相关分子的鉴定将有助于生物基金属回收系统的发展。该项目提供分子生物学、合成生物学、生物化学和纳米技术方面的培训。该项目的工作将为提高当前金属生物回收产量提供必要的工具和知识。

The Horsfall group is engineering bacteria to recover metals from spent lithium ion batteries (LiBs) once reuse is no longer possible. By using the new tools and techniques provided by advances in biology we will engineer microbes with the ability to selectively recover metals in the form of nanoparticles adding value to the recovery process. Desulfovibrio alaskensis can recover a variety of metals through the production of nanoparticles but it cannot discriminate between Co and Ni, both of which are likely to be present in battery leachates. Therefore, this PhD project will investigate the selective recovery of Ni through engineering of D. alaskensis. This project will also investigate the recovery of two other important metals in LiBs, Al and Li, using Pseudomonas species. Furthermore, the elemental composition and physicochemical properties of biogenic nanoparticles are known to differ depending on the bacterial species and conditions used. Thus, the production of biogenic Ni, Li and Al nanoparticles will be studied under varying factors (e.g. aerobic/anaerobic, media composition, temperature).This project will examine native bacterial metal resistance systems, their potential for genetic manipulation and opportunities for their application. This may involve the characterisation of promoters and ribosomal binding sites with reporter genes, the optimisation of proteins in the metal nanoparticle synthesis pathway and investigation of the resultant effects on the metal resistance exhibited by the organism. The identification of relevant molecules for the selective recovery of Ni, Al and Li will contribute to the development of a of bio-based system for the recovery of metals. The project offers training in molecular biology, synthetic biology, biochemistry and nanotechnology. The work in this project will provide the necessary tools and knowledge needed to improve upon current metal biorecovery yields.