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Biohydro-metallurgy is a new field, which combines metallurgy and biotechnology.
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Chemistry Open Book Paper Biohydro-metallurgy is a new field, which combines metallurgy and biotechnology. It is used in the extraction of metals from their ores using bacteria. The method used, referred to as bacterial leaching/ bacterial oxidation, can be used to extract copper and gold from their ores. In the extraction of copper, the bacteria Thiobacillus ferro-oxidans and Thiobacillus thio-oxidans are used. These bacteria live by obtaining energy from the oxidation of Fe2+ ions and S2- ions, as seen below: Fe2+ ? Fe3+ + e- S2- + 4H2O ? SO42- + 8H+ + 8e- (equations from Chemical Storylines) This is useful when extracting copper, as S2- ions are present in insoluble minerals of copper. When the bacteria oxidise the S2- ions, copper ions are released into the solution. They can then be extracted from the solution. When applied to copper production, a simple method is followed. The rocks to be leached (usually...
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