Perspectives regarding the use of metallurgical slags as secondary metal resources - A review of bioleaching approaches

Abstract

Smelting activity by its very nature produces large amounts of metal-bearing waste, often called metallurgical slag(s). In the past, industry used to dispose of these waste products at dumping sites without the appropriate environmental oversight. Once there, ongoing biogeochemical processes affect the stability of the slags and cause the release of metallic contaminants. Rather than viewing metallurgical slags as waste, however, such deposits should be viewed as secondary metal resources. Metal bioleaching is a "green" treatment route for metallurgical slags, currently being studied under laboratory conditions. Metal-laden leachates obtained at the bioleaching stage have to be subjected to further recovery operations in order to obtain metal(s) of interest to achieve the highest levels of purity possible. This perspective paper considers the feasibility of the reuse of base-metal slags as secondary metal resources. Special focus is given to current laboratory bioleaching approaches and associated processing obstacles. Further directions of research for development of more efficient methods for waste slag treatment are also highlighted. The optimized procedure for slag treatment is defined as the result of this review and should include following steps: i) slag characterization (chemical and phase composition and buffering capacity) following the choice of initial pH, ii) the choice of particle size, iii) the choice of the liquid-to-solid ratio, iv) the choice of microorganisms, v) the choice of optimal nutrient supply (growth medium composition). An optimal combination of all these parameters will lead to efficient extraction and generation of metal-free solid residue.

Keywords: Bio/leaching; Metal; Metallurgical slag; Recovery.