ReCharge - Recovery and reuse of high value metal resources from portable battery waste

英国正在实施的电池废品法规增加了需要回收的电池废品的数量。项目再充电旨在利用这一资源来改善锌、镍、锂和其他金属的供应，这些金属目前被送往垃圾填埋场或作为废物出口。英国目前还没有针对某些类型电池的电池废物处理设施。该项目将建立一种利用这些废流的低能耗方法。充电将使用已知的工业生物技术过程来提取和浓缩各种便携式电池中包含的金属。这种方法可以从高金属含量的废物中进行生物提取，但它必须在经济上与现有的冶炼技术竞争。该项目旨在通过培养微生物、优化生长和回收生产的金属，从电池废料中经济地回收金属。这项技术将通过一家获得许可的英国废物处理公司进行开发。

The UK Battery Waste Regulations now in force is increasing the volume of battery waste required to be recycled. Project ReCharge sets out to utilise this resource to improve the supply of Zinc, Nickel, Lithium and other metals presently going to landfill or being exported as waste. The UK has no battery waste treatment facilities at present for some battery types. This project will establish a low energy method of utilising this waste stream. ReCharge will use known industrial biotechnology processes to extract and concentrate the metals contained within various portable battery types. This process enables biological extraction from high metal content wastes, it has to compete economically with present smelting technologies. The project aims to economically recover metals from battery waste; by cultivating micro-organisms, optimising growth and recovering the metals produced. The technology will be exploited through a licenced UK waste processing company.