BioElectrochemical LIthium rEcoVEry (BELIEVE)

锂离子电池(LiB)在便携式电子设备中的需求日益增长，在固定应用和电动汽车中的储能需求也越来越大。锂(Li)是一种高科技金属，仅在世界上少数几个地方找到，其开采成本高、能源要求高，而且会污染环境。对电池的需求导致了LiB的使用量和消耗量的不断增加，其中含有大量的Li。目前锂的回收和循环利用方法复杂、昂贵、破坏环境，因此有必要开发高效的替代方法。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很有前途的方法。这些方法利用微生物的新陈代谢能力来执行通常使用物理化学方法完成的过程。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。本项目旨在设计和优化生物电化学系统(BES)以回收高纯度锂。在生物电化学系统(BES)中，例如微生物燃料电池(MFCs)，电能是由有机化合物(如废水)的阳极中的微生物降解产生的。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，电子被用来还原电子受体(如金属)。当阴极被能够将电子转移到锂上的微生物定植时，可以从废液中回收高纯度的可回收的李灿。在本项目中，我们将设计和分析从实际锂离子废液中回收锂的微生物电化学系统，重点讨论影响该过程的主要方面，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)，以及提高锂回收产率和效率的操作条件。我们将筛选不同的微生物种类和群落，以了解它们从废物中去除锂的能力，并在不同的反应堆设计(微生物燃料电池、微生物电化学电池、微生物海水淡化电池和管式反应器)中对它们进行测试。我们将进行详细的生命周期评估和技术经济分析，以评估该过程对环境和经济的影响，从而探讨经济规模运营的可行性，并了解生物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楚的了解，并制定扩大规模的战略。该项目将提供一种基于生物技术的最佳解决方案，以从锂废料中获得高纯度和高产量的锂。找回的李灿将被送回LIB，这将通过测试其质量来证明，以完成Li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.