Non-ferrous metal bioleaching from copper slag with a spent medium of sporosarcina ureae
Plamen Georgiev, Marina Nicolova, Irena Spasova
University of Mining and Geology “St. Ivan Rilski”, 1700 Sofia; E-mail: ps_georgiev@mgu.bg Corresponding author: ps_georgiev@mgu.bg
ABSTRACT. The aim of this study is the indirect bioleaching of non-ferrous metals from pyrometallurgical copper slag containing 0.36% Cu, 1.93% Zn, and 0.09% Co using a spent culture medium from the bacterial strain Sporosarcina ureae CCM 981 with a pH of 9.43. Bioleaching was performed using the flask shaking technique at 150 rpm for 72 hours, yielding the best results for the extraction of copper (21.5%), zinc (21.2%), and cobalt (41.3%) at 55 °C and a pulp density of 7.5%. Iron and silicon co-leached, resulting in selectivity values of 0.307 and 0.98, respectively, for non-ferrous metal extraction from the copper slag sample under these experimental conditions.
Key words: bioleaching, non-ferrous metal, copper slag, selectivity
DOI: https://doi.org/10.58903/MPIG2658
References
Abraham, A. P., & Shopf, S. (2026). Bioleaching as a biotechnological tool for metal recovery: from sewage to space mining. Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology, 13, 01-23. https://doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2025.1712157
APHA. 1995. Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater. (19th ed.). American Public Health Association, Washington, D.C
Chiang, Y. W., Santos, R.M., Monballiu, A., Ghyselbrecht, K., Martnes, J. A., Mattos, M. L. T., Gerven, T. V., & Meeschaert, B. (2013). Effects of bioleaching on the chemical, mineralogical, and morphological properties of natural and waste-derived alkaline materials. Minerals Engineering, 48, 116-125. doi:10.1016/j.mineng.2012.09.004
Coelho, M.A., Mesquita, A., Fusconi, R., Fernando, L., Roesch, W., & Ferreira, A. (2022). Ammonia volatilization and Sporosarcina genus abundance in an Oxisol enriched with urea, compost and biochar. Applied Soil Ecology, 176, 104494. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsoil.2022.104494
Deng, T., & Ling, Y. (2007). Processing of copper converter slag for metals reclamation. Part I: Extraction and recovery of copper and cobalt. Waste Management & Research, 25(5), 440-448. doi: 10.1177/0734242X07077613
Duarte- Nass, C., Rebolledo, K., Valenzela, T., Kopp, M., Jeison, D., Rivas, M., Azocar, L., Torres-Aravena, A., & Ciudad, G. (2020). Application of microbe-induced carbonate precipitation for copper removal from copper-enriched waters: challenges to future industrial application. Journal of Environmental Management, 256, 109938. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.109938
Dzinomwa, G., Mapani, B., Nghipulile, T., Maweja, K., Kurasha, J. T., Amwaama, M., & Chigayo, K. (2023). Mineralogical characterization of historic copper slag to guide the recovery of valuable metals: A Namibian case study. Materials, 16, 6126. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202307.2016.v1
Georgiev, P., Spasova, I., Groudeva, V., Nicolova, M., Lazarova, A., Iliev, M., Ilieva, R., & Groudev, S. (2017). Bioleaching of valuable components from a pyrometallurgical final slag. Solid State Phenomena, 262, 696 – 699. DOI: 10.4028/www.scientific.net/SSP.262.696
Georgiev, P., Nicolova, M., Spasova, M., Iliev, M., & Ilieva, R. (2025a). Non-ferrous metal bioleaching from pyrometallurgical copper slag using spent medium of different fungal species. Metals, 15(12), 1359. https://doi.org/10.3390/met15121359
Georgiev, P., Nicolova, M., & Spasova, I. (2025b). Biological leaching of non-ferrous metals from copper slag using a strain of silicate-solubilising bacteria. Sustainable Extraction and Processing of Raw Materials, 6, 19-24. DOI: https://doi.org/10.58903/dw18920762
Gu, T., Rastegar, S.O., Mousavi, S.M., L,i M., & Zhou, M. (2018). Advances in bioleaching for recovery of metals and bioremediation of fuel ash and sewage sludge. Bioresource Technology, 261, 428-440. doi: 10.1016/j.biortech.2018.04.033
Huang, X., Zhang, R., Cui, M., & Lai, H. (2022). Experimental investigation on bioremediation of heavy metal contaminated solution by Sporosarcina pasteurii under some complex conditions. Water, 14, 595. https://doi.org/10.3390/w14040595
Kang, C.-H., Shin, Y., Anbu, P., Nam, I.-H., & So, J.-S. (2016). Biosequestration of copper by bacteria isolated from an abandoned mine using microbial induced calcite precipitation. Journal of General and Applied Microbiology, 62, 206–212. doi 10.2323/jgam.2016.03.001
Kumar, V., Singh, G. & Dwivedi, S.K. (2023). Application of bioleaching for metal recovery. In Sillanpää, M.K.., Khadir, A., & Gurung, K. (Eds.), Resource Recovery in Industrial Waste Waters, 1st ed.; Publisher: Elsevier, 2023, pp. 295-318. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-323-95327-6.00033-6
Ma, L., Pang, A-. P., Luo, X., & Lin, F. (2020). Beneficial factors for biomineralization by ureolytic bacterium Sporosarcina pasteurii. Microbial Cell Factories, 19, 12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12934-020-1281-z
Mikoda, B., Potysz, A., & Kmiecik, E. (2019). Bacterial leaching of critical metal values from Polish copper metallurgical slags using Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans. Journal of Environmental Management, 236, 436-445. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.02.032
Phiri, T., Singh, P., & Nikoloski, A.N. (2022). The potential for copper slag waste as a resource for a circular economy. A review – part I. Minerals Engineering, 180, 107474. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mineng.2022.107474
Prince, S., Young, J., Ma, G., & Young, C. (2016). Characterization and recovery of valuables from waste copper smelting slag. Advances in Molten Slags, Fluxes, and Salts: Proceedings of the 10th International Conference on Molten Slags, Fluxes and Salts 2016, 889-898.
Radmehr, V., Koleini, S. M. J., Khalesi, M. R., & Mohammadi, M. R. T. (2014). Ammonia leaching: a new approach of copper industry in hydrometallurgical processes. Journal of The Institution of Engineers (India): Series D, 94(2), 95–104. doi: 10.1007/s40033-013-0029-x
Ramanathan, T., & Peng, Y.-T. (2016). Alkaline bioleaching of municipal solid waste incineration fly ash by autochthonous extremophiles. Chemosphere, 160, 54-61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2016.06.055
Rehmanji, M., Sceffington, A., Hudson-Edwards, K.A., & Newsome, L. (2025). Circular economy approaches to microbially-induced carbonate precipitation for bioprocessing of geothermal brine for lithium recovery. RSC Advances, 15, 43263-43.274. doi: https://doi.org/10.1039/D5RA06824J
Rezza, I., Salinas, E., Elorza, M., de Tosetti, M. S., & Donatti, E. (2001). Mechanisms involved in bioleaching of an aluminosilicate by heterotrophic microorganisms. Process Biochemistry, 36, 495-500. doi:10.1016/S0032-9592(00)00164-3
Wang, Z., Lu, X., Zhang, X., Yuan, Z., Zheng, M., & Hu, S. (2024). Ammonium-based bioleaching of toxic metals from sewage sludge in a continuous bioreactor. Water Research, 256, 121651. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2024.121651
Watkin E.L.J., Nancucheo, I., & Schippers, A. (2024). Editorial: Acidophile microbiology: from extreme environments to biotechnological applications. Frontiers in Microbiology, 15, 1454559. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1454559
Weng, W., Lan, Y., Tang, D., Chen, H., Xia, J., Chen J., & Zhong, S. (2025). Acid leaching of copper from copper slag based on machine leaching analysis. Separation and Purification Technology, 379(3), 135025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.seppur.2025.135025
Willcher, S., & K. Bosecker (2003). Studies on the leaching behaviour of heterotrophic microorganisms isolated from an alkaline slag dump. Hydrometallurgy, 71(1), 257-264. doi: 10.1016/S0304-386X(03)00164-6
Whitworth, A. J., Vaughan, J., Southam, G., van der Ent, A., Nkrumah, P. N., Ma, X., & Parbhakar-Fox, A. (2022).Review on metal extraction technologies suitable for critical metal recovery from mining and processing wastes. Minerals Engineering, 182, 107537-107537. doi: 10.1016/j.mineng.2022.107537
Yee, N., & Fein, J. (2001). Cd adsorption onto bacterial surfaces: a universal adsorption edge? Geochimica et. Cosmochimica Acta, 65(11), 2037-2042. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-7037(01)00587-7
Yin, S., Wang, L., Wu, A., Kabwe, E., Chen, X.,& Yan, R. (2018). Copper recycle from sulphide tailings using combined leaching of ammonia solution and alkaline bacteria. Journal of Cleaner Production, 189, 746–753. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.04.116