Biomining
Introduction: Biological extraction of minerals
Bio-mining and Bio-leaching
Microorganisms are used in the mining industry for their natural ability to digest, absorb, and change the quality of different chemicals and metals.
Biomining and Bioleaching
Biohydrometallurgy
Possible applications for OSE
Aluminum: As was previously demonstrated, aluminum can be extracted from clays. While only very preliminarily explored, aluminum-bio-extraction may become a possibility in the future, as demonstrated here
Nitrogen: fixation from air - cyanobacteria used in Asia, grown in shallow ponds which then dry out, leaving green sludge, a high-nitrogen natural fertilizer (... this is not mining !)
Phosphorus: duckweed for phosphate biomining - Use of duckweed for phosphate mining from wastewater. Duckweeds are highly efficient at extracting phosphates from wastewater, down to trace concentrations. Excavated soil could be dissolved in water, and duckweeds would then extract the phosphates from the muddy water. The processed sediment can later be used to make CEBs.
Links
Wikipedia entries for Biomining, Bioleaching and Biohydrometallurgy
BioMineWiki- a wiki on biohydrometallurgy