Recovery of high-value metals from geothermal sites by biosorption and bioaccumulation

•Biosorption methods used for metal recovery from geothermal fluids are reviewed.•The type of metals present in geothermal site from different locations is shown.•The use of different biosorbents for the high-value metals recovery is summarized.•Key aspects associated with metal recovery from geothe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bioresource technology 2014-05, Vol.160, p.182-190
Main Authors: Lo, Yung-Chung, Cheng, Chieh-Lun, Han, Yin-Lung, Chen, Bor-Yann, Chang, Jo-Shu
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adsorption
Bioaccumulation
Biodegradation, Environmental
Biological
Biomass
Biosorption
Fluid dynamics
Fluid flow
Fluids
Geological Phenomena
Geothermal
Geothermal site
Materials recovery
Metal recovery
Metals - isolation & purification
Recovering
Temperature
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Summary:•Biosorption methods used for metal recovery from geothermal fluids are reviewed.•The type of metals present in geothermal site from different locations is shown.•The use of different biosorbents for the high-value metals recovery is summarized.•Key aspects associated with metal recovery from geothermal fluids are discussed. Generation of geothermal energy is associated with a significant amount of geothermal fluids, which may be abundant in high-value metals, such as lithium, cesium, rubidium, and other precious and rare earth metals. The recovery of high-value metals from geothermal fluids would thus have both economic and environmental benefits. The conventional technologies applied to achieve this are mostly physicochemical, which may be energy intensive, pose the risk of secondary pollution whilst being inefficient in recovering metals from dilute solutions. Biological methods, based on biosorption or bioaccumulation, have recently emerged as alternative approaches, as they are more environmentally friendly, cost effective, and suitable for treating wastewater with dilute metal contents. This article provides a comprehensive review of the related biological technologies used to recover the high-value metals present in geothermal fluids as well as critical discussion on the key issues that are often used to evaluate the effectiveness of those methods.
ISSN:0960-8524
1873-2976
DOI:10.1016/j.biortech.2014.02.008