Effective bioleaching of low-grade copper ores: Insights from microbial cross experiments

Xingjie Wang; Liyuan Ma; Jiangjun Wu; Yunhua Xiao; Jiemeng Tao; Xueduan Liu

doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2020.123273

Effective bioleaching of low-grade copper ores: Insights from microbial cross experiments

Bioresour Technol. 2020 Jul:308:123273. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2020.123273. Epub 2020 Mar 30.

Authors

Xingjie Wang¹, Liyuan Ma², Jiangjun Wu³, Yunhua Xiao⁴, Jiemeng Tao⁵, Xueduan Liu⁵

Affiliations

¹ School of Resource and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430081, China; Key Laboratory of Biometallurgy of Ministry of Education, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China.
² School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China; Key Laboratory of Biometallurgy of Ministry of Education, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China. Electronic address: maly@cug.edu.cn.
³ School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China.
⁴ Key Laboratory of Biometallurgy of Ministry of Education, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China; College of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China.
⁵ Key Laboratory of Biometallurgy of Ministry of Education, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China.

PMID: 32247948
DOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2020.123273

Abstract

The interaction between microorganisms and minerals was a hot topic to reveal the transformation of key elements that affecting bioleaching efficiency. Three typical low-grade copper ores, the main copper-bearing components of which were primary sulfide, secondary sulfide and high-oxidative sulfide copper, were obtained from Dexing, Zijinshan and Luanshya copper mine, respectively. Meanwhile, six typical microorganisms were isolated from each of the three habitats, and assembled as communities based on their origins. Cross bioleaching was carried out under identical conditions. The leaching parameters showed that native strains played excellent roles in their corresponding ore bioleaching process, and community structure was greatly determined by mineral composition, indicating that domestication for longitudinal adaption was an effective way to improve microbial leaching performance. Leptospirillum ferriphilum and Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans promoted copper release by shifting redox potential and pH of the leachate, respectively, indicating that microbial population regulation was another effective way to improve bioleaching efficiency.

Keywords: Cross bioleaching; Domestication; Low-grade copper ore; Microorganisms; Population regulation.

MeSH terms

Acidithiobacillus*
Bacteria
Copper*
Mining
Sulfides

Substances

Sulfides
Copper