Bioleaching of metal from waste stream using a native strain of Acidithiobacillus isolated from a coal mine drainage

In this study, the feasibility of using a biohydrometallurgical technique for selective metals recovery from electronic waste (e-waste) by bacterial bioleaching was investigated. Acidithiobacillus was identified in coal mining acid mine drainage (AMD). The microorganism was studied using specific sequencing of a 16s rDNA fragment. The potential for the dissolution of copper from waste printed wire boards (PWBs) using the isolated Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans (A. ferroxidans) was evaluated. The bioleaching experiments were performed in an orbital shaker at 30 degrees C and 170 rpm, with 10 % (v/v) inoculum and a pulp density of 30 g/L. The copper concentration was determined by energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence (XRF). The result shows that copper recovery from PWBs using our A. ferrooxidans strain was 95 % after 8 days, which showed the feasibility of this process.