What is Phytomining and how does it work?
What is Phytomining and how does it work?
Phytomining involves growing plants on top of low grade ores. The plants absorb copper ions through their roots The plants are then burnt to ashes containing copper ions. These ions are leached from the ash using sulfuric acid. Scrap iron can then be used to displace the copper from the leachate.
What type of ores can Phytomining and bioleaching be used on?
Phytomining and bioleaching are used to extract copper from metal contaminated land and low grade ores. They avoid the more traditional method of digging, moving and disposing of large amounts of rock.
What are the steps of bioleaching?
The 3 most common commercial biomining processes are:
- Slope Leaching. Fine ore is kept in a large, slope-shaped dump.
- Heap Leaching. In this technique, the ore is arranged in large heaps.
- In-situ Leaching. The ore remains in its natural state while the leaching process takes place.
What temperature do you need for bioleaching?
ferrooxidans are mesophilic bacteria which grow best at temperatures of 25–35°C.
Which is better Phytomining or bioleaching?
What is Bioleaching? BIOLEACHING is very similar to phytomining, BUT there are some differences….
| ADVANTAGES | DISADVANTAGES |
|---|---|
| The process is more environmentally friendly than traditional extraction methods. | Less profit is made from bioleaching which means it is less appealing to buisness men and women. |
What are the disadvantages of Phytoextraction?
As with all remediation techniques, phytoextraction has a limited effectiveness. Its two main limitations are: metal toxicity to plants at high concentrations and the cost to dispose of the plant tissues.
Which is better Phytomining and bioleaching?
BIOLEACHING is very similar to phytomining, BUT there are some differences….
| ADVANTAGES | DISADVANTAGES |
|---|---|
| The process is more environmentally friendly than traditional extraction methods. | Less profit is made from bioleaching which means it is less appealing to buisness men and women. |
Where is Phytomining used?
Gold revenue at each location is helping promote management of mercury (Indonesia) and arsenic (China) in mine waste, while in Mexico, phytomining is being used as a mechanism to create employment in poor areas.
Where is bioleaching used?
Bioleaching is used today in commercial operations to process ores of copper, nickel, cobalt, zinc and uranium, whereas, biooxidation is used in gold processing and coal desulfurization. Bioleaching involves the use of microorganisms to catalyze the oxidation of iron sulfides to create ferric sulfate and sulfuric acid.
What are the disadvantages of bioleaching?
| ADVANTAGES | DISADVANTAGES |
|---|---|
| Bioleaching is in general simpler and cheaper to operate and maintain than traditional processes. | The bacterial leaching process is very slow compared to other methods. |
What are the disadvantages of phytoextraction?
What organisms are used in bioleaching?
Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans, Acidithiobacillus caldus, Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans, and Acidithiobacillus ferrivorans are the well-known and widely studied microorganism for bioleaching due to their capability to oxidize the sulfidic minerals (Johnson, 2014).