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

Horsfall集团正在设计细菌，以便在无法再利用时从废旧锂离子电池（LiBs）中回收金属。通过使用生物学进步提供的新工具和技术，我们将设计微生物，使其能够以纳米颗粒的形式选择性地回收金属，从而为回收过程增加价值。阿拉斯加脱硫弧菌可以通过生产纳米颗粒来回收各种金属，但它不能区分钴和镍，这两种金属都可能存在于电池浸出液中。因此，本博士项目将研究通过D.阿拉斯加。该项目还将研究利用假单胞菌回收LiBs中的另外两种重要金属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根据所使用的细菌种类和条件而不同。因此，生物镍，锂和铝纳米粒子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。该项目将研究天然细菌金属抗性系统，其遗传操纵的潜力和应用机会。这可能涉及的启动子和核糖体结合位点与报告基因的表征，在金属纳米颗粒合成途径中的蛋白质的优化和调查所产生的影响，对金属电阻所表现出的有机体。确定相关分子的镍，铝和锂的选择性回收将有助于发展的生物为基础的系统回收金属。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。该项目的工作将提供必要的工具和知识，以提高目前的金属生物回收率。

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.