Bioleaching of metals from printed wire boards by Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans and their mixture

Bioleaching processes were used to mobilize metals from printed wire boards (PWBs). The bacteria Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans (A. ferrooxidans) and Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans (A. thiooxidans) isolated from an acidic mine drainage were grown and acclimated in presence of PWBs and then used as bioleaching bacteria to solubilize metals from PWBs. The experimental results demonstrate that all the percentages of copper, lead, zinc solubilized into the leaching solution from actual PWBs basically increased with decrease of sieve fraction of sample and decrease of PWBs concentration. The concentration of PWBs should be controlled under the range from 7.8 to 19.5 g l−1. Under 7.8 g l−1 of the concentration of PWBs, the percentages of copper solubilized are 99.0%, 74.9%, 99.9% at 0.5-1.0 mm of sieve fraction at 9 d of leaching time by the pure culture of A. ferrooxidans, the pure culture of A. thiooxidans, and mixed culture of A. ferrooxidans and A. thiooxidans, respectively, while the percentages of copper, lead and zinc solubilized are all more than 88.9% at <0.35 mm of the sieve fractions of sample at 5 d of leaching time by the above three kinds of cultures. Variation of pH and redox potential of leaching solution with time implied that Fe3+ oxidized from Fe2+ in the culture medium in presence of A. ferrooxidans caused the mobilization of metals. It is concluded that A. ferrooxidans and A. thiooxidans were able to grow in the presence of PWBs and the pure culture of A. ferrooxidans, and the mixed culture of A. ferrooxidans and A. thiooxidans can not only efficiently bioleach the main metal copper but also bioleach other minor metals such as lead, zinc as well.