Bioelectrochemical recovery of Cu, Pb, Cd, and Zn from dilute solutions
Journal article, 2012

In a microbial bioelectrochemical system (BES) living microorganisms catalyze the anodic oxidation of organic matter at a low anode potential. We used a BES with a biological anode to power the cathodic recovery of Cu, Pb, Cd, and Zn from a simulated municipal solid waste incineration ash leachate. By varying the control of the BES, the four metals could sequentially be recovered from a mixed solution by reduction on a titanium cathode. First, the cell voltage was controlled at zero, which allowed recovery of Cu from the solution without an electrical energy input. Second, the cathode potential was controlled at -0.51 V to recover Pb, which required an applied voltage of about 0.34 V. Third, the cathode potential was controlled at -0.66V to recover Cd, which required an applied voltage of 0.51 V. Finally, Zn was the only metal remaining in solution and was recovered by controlling the anode at +0.2 V to maximize the generated current. The study is the first to demonstrate that a BES can be used for cathodic recovery of metals from a mixed solution, which potentially could be used not only for ash leachates but also for e.g. metallurgical wastewaters and landfill leachates.

Metal recovery

Ash leachate

Municipal solid waste

Microbial electrolysis cell

Electrowinning

Author

Oskar Modin

Chalmers, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Water Environment Technology

Xiaofei Wang

Chalmers, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Water Environment Technology

Xue Wu

Chalmers, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Water Environment Technology

Sebastien Rauch

Chalmers, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Water Environment Technology

Karin Karlfeldt Fedje

FRIST competence centre

Chalmers, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Water Environment Technology

Journal of Hazardous Materials

0304-3894 (ISSN) 18733336 (eISSN)

Vol. 235-236 291-297

Areas of Advance

Building Futures (2010-2018)

Life Science Engineering (2010-2018)

Materials Science

Subject Categories

Water Treatment

Environmental Biotechnology

DOI

10.1016/j.jhazmat.2012.07.058

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5/3/2019 7