Coursework.Info - Inspiration in an Instant

On the left is an image preview of every page of this document, and below are the first 150 words with formatting removed:

Bacterial Leaching in the mining industry Introduction What is bacterial leaching Bacterial leaching is the process by which micro-organisms are used to extract valuable elements from compounds. The bacteria achieve this extraction by oxidising the compounds; (this is how the bacteria obtain their energy to live) separating the compound into its separate elements. How is it applied to the mining industry In mining, bacteria such as the Thiobacillus thio-oxidans obtain the energy they need to live by oxidising S2- ions. The S2- ions are present in insoluble minerals of copper, zinc and lead. The oxidation of the S2- ions by bacteria releases these valuable metal ions into solution (from where the metallic elements can be extracted). An example of where widespread leaching can be found San Manuel in Arizona, a mine consisting of five holes drilled into an ore deposit, an acidic leaching solution containing bacteria is pumped down the central hole...

To see the full version of this document, and 145,348 others