Application of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans for recovering metals from electronic waste dust

Abstract

The paper discusses metal recovery from metallic wastes by means of pure chemical and biological leaching in an acidic medium. The research tested whether it is possible to remove Cu, Al, Sn and Ag from the dust formed during processing of electronic waste by means of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans. A laboratory flow bioreactor was designed and assembled for the purpose of the experiments. The experiments confirmed the effect of the bacteria on the dissolution of Cu, Al, and Sn, as well as different efficiency levels depending on the type of the leached material. The experimental results confirmed the positive effect of the presence of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans bacteria on the recovery of Cu, Al and mainly Sn into the leaching solutions from the leached dust.