Coordinator: Carlos FRIAS GOMEZ - Tecnicas Reunidas

The key to success in biotechnology is the process of translation the basic laboratory achievements into a cost-effective, reliable and robust plant-scale operation.

It is crucial to consider the engineering aspects of any biometallurgical project at an early stage and identifying where the cost bottlenecks are likely to be.

Engineering should be undertaken from initial stages and alongside the biological developments.

Objectives :

• Integration of innovative biotechnological processes for valuable metals recovery from primary and secondary sources, e.g. ores and concentrates, mining wastes, secondary materials such as slags, scraps, dusts and ashes, mining and industrial effluents, etc.

• Development of biometallurgical processes at three levels: laboratory, bench scale, and pilot plant

• Definition, design and evaluation of developed biometallurgical technologies aiming to get a reliable “product” for potential industrial applications

• To establish procedures for biometallurgical processes assessment, and setting criteria for bioreactors and bioprocesses design and scale-up

Bioleaching tank propeller
Source: BioMinE Consortium
(click to enlarge image).