Biological recovery of metals from lithium ion batteries (LIBs) and synthesis of nanoparticles

The resource efficiency Knowledge Transfer Network estimated that world-wide mining activities are responsible for 5% of global carbon dioxide emissions, consume limited fossil fuel resources and produce other damaging ’greenhouse gases’, recovery of metals would reduce the burden on mining and its environmental impact. The development of a bioprocess for the recovery of metals, which capitalises on the unique selectivity and sensitivity of biology, is envisaged to be greener than physical and chemical recovery methods. Furthermore, the ability to manipulate bacteria in combination with their ability to synthesise nanoparticles could provide access to a host of novel nanoparticles with new properties and unlimited potential applications.

Linked to our work in ReLiB, one of the Faraday Institution’s Fast Start Projects, we propose to design and engineer bacteria to recover metals from spent lithium ion batteries (LiBs) once reuse is no longer possible. Recovering and recycling metals from LiBs is a must in order to ensure the supply of raw materials to meet the high demand of batteries and to minimise the volume of hazardous waste generated by spent LiBs. By using the new tools and techniques provided by advances in biology we will engineer microbes with the ability to selectively recover metals in the form of high value nanoparticles adding value to the recovery process.

In this PhD project the student will examine native bacterial systems for metal resistance, their potential for genetic manipulation and opportunities for their application. This may involve the characterisation of promoters and ribosomal binding sites with reporter genes, the optimisation of proteins in the metal nanoparticle synthesis pathway and investigation of the resultant effects on the metal resistance exhibited by the organism. The student will receive training in molecular biology, biochemistry and nanotechnology, with an emphasis on synthetic biology approaches for characterising expression levels. The work in this project will provide the necessary tools and knowledge needed to improve upon current metal biorecovery yields.

The project will require collaboration with a number of scientists and engineers at other UK Universities, and the student will be benefit from the additional training opportunities this provides.


Lab website: http://horsfall.bio.ed.ac.uk/
The Faraday Institution website https://faraday.ac.uk