Metal Bioleaching of Used Lithium-Ion Battery Using <i>Acidophilic ferrooxidans</i> Isolated from Acid Mine Drainage

Abstract

The cobalt content in LIB (Lithium-ion Battery) can be recycled using green technology through a bioleaching process with the help of microorganisms to have high efficiency, low cost, easy method, and environmentally friendly. The bacterial strain of A. ferrooxidans in the bioleaching process isolated from acid mine water was capable to extracting cobalt in LIB to obtain pure metal ions. The aim of this research is to isolate bacteria A. ferrooxidans from acid mine water in order to extract the element cobalt from a LIB. This study has recovery with culture time of 0-14 days, aerobic systems, inoculum concentrations of 5%, 10%, and 20%. The optimization of bacterial growth was done by aerating the culture. The recovered cobalt were analyzed from the filtrate after the bioleaching process using ICP analysis. LIB and sediment of the bioleaching process were analyzed by XRD, SEM and EDX. The conclusion of this study showed that the recovery of cobalt metal (Co) using the bacterial strain of A. ferrooxidans was obtained at 73.95% for 14 days with the addition of a battery cathode of 1 gram/100 ml at the optimum conditions obtained when the addition of 20% inoculum, pH: 2-4, temperature: 30°C, and the aeration system uses an aerator. Bacterial strains isolated from acid mine drainage have the potential as oxidizing agents for lithium and cobalt metals in bioleaching processes.