Cultivation and molecular biological analysis of copper reducing bacteria as for a copper recycling from low-grade metal ore

The growing proliferation of machines such as laptops, computers and smartphones on a global scale means an increase in different types of metals that aren't easily recyclable. Typically, to be recycled these metals are dissolved at a high temperature before being separated by precipitation using a strong acid. A byproduct of this is significant amounts of CO2 and the acids used can end up in water systems. Dr Akifumi Hosoda, Meijo University, Japan, is interested in developing a better means of recycling electronic waste. A key focus for him and his team is copper and how the biochemical exploitation of microbes might provide a suitable method for recycling this metal. Copper has a high bactericidal effect and the goal is to find a microorganism that can oxidise this metal in the environment. In recent work, Hosoda and the team have cultivated and performed molecular biological analysis of copper-reducing bacteria for copper recycling from low-grade metal ore. The goal is to produce copper ions generated by the team's culture and ascertain whether different forms of copper can be extracted from copper sulfide by reducing copper through its bacterial inhabitants. By performing analyses, the researchers will be able to understand more about the bacteria that have grown in the cultures and clarify the main bacteria in the copper-reducing reaction.