Abstract
Phytomining is a new promising technique that is based on using hyperaccumulating plants which biomass is utilized as a bio-ore for metal extraction. The Ni-hyperaccumulating species Odontarrhena muralis is widely distributed on ultramafic soils in Serbia, and could be a promising candidate for Ni agromining. In the present study, efficiency of a hydrometallurgical process for Ni recovery using biomass of O. muralis wild population through the synthesis of Ni salts from plant ash in the form of ammonium nickel sulfate hexahydrate, Ni(NH4)2(SO4)2 6H2O ? (ANSH) was assessed. The average Ni content in the plant from ultramafic sites in West Serbia was up to 3.300 g kg-1. The mass yield of ANSH crystals from the crude ash was ~12 % with the average purity of 73 % were obtained. By optimizing the purification process before precipitation of ANSH crystals, it is possible to obtain salt crystals of higher purity, which increases the economic profitability of this process. The results of this preliminary study on wild population of O. muralis show the increased potential for implementation of phytomining practices as an alternative way of Ni extraction on ultramafic sites in Serbia.
Highlights
One of the main consequences of development and increasingly intensive anthropogenic activities is the generation of vast quantities of waste, often containing significant concentrations of potentially toxic elements
This process is similar to phytoextraction, with the difference that the biomass obtained by classical phytoextraction is treated as waste, while in the process of phytomining, it is a raw material for the recovery of metals or their compounds [2]
Chemical analyses of dry plant biomass and raw ash Chemical compositions of the leaves (OML), stems (OMS), and flowers (OMF) of O. murale are shown in Table 1, as well as chemical compositions of the total aboveground plant biomass and the ash produced during combustion
Summary
One of the main consequences of development and increasingly intensive anthropogenic activities is the generation of vast quantities of waste, often containing significant concentrations of potentially toxic elements (e.g. heavy metals). In recent decades, new techniques have been developed that allow recycling of metal(oid)s, i.e. extraction from waste materials or from substrates with concentrations of metals or their compounds not sufficient for economically acceptable mining. One such technique is phytomining, in which selected hyperaccumulating plants are grown on a metal-bearing substrate with the aim of concentrating high amounts of the metal(oid)s in the biomass [1]. After the biomass is harvested, it is used as a bio-ore for metal(oid)s extraction This process is similar to phytoextraction, with the difference that the biomass obtained by classical phytoextraction is treated as waste, while in the process of phytomining, it is a raw material for the recovery of metals or their compounds [2].
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