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Perspective on the use of methanogens in lithium recovery from brines

Methanogenic archaea stand out as multipurpose biocatalysts for different applications in wide-ranging industrial sectors due to their crucial role in the methane (CH(4)) cycle and ubiquity in natural environments. The increasing demand for raw materials required by the manufacturing sector (i.e., m...

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Autores principales: Abdel Azim, Annalisa, Vizzarro, Arianna, Bellini, Ruggero, Bassani, Ilaria, Baudino, Luisa, Pirri, Candido Fabrizio, Verga, Francesca, Lamberti, Andrea, Menin, Barbara
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10434214/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37601371
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1233221
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author Abdel Azim, Annalisa
Vizzarro, Arianna
Bellini, Ruggero
Bassani, Ilaria
Baudino, Luisa
Pirri, Candido Fabrizio
Verga, Francesca
Lamberti, Andrea
Menin, Barbara
author_facet Abdel Azim, Annalisa
Vizzarro, Arianna
Bellini, Ruggero
Bassani, Ilaria
Baudino, Luisa
Pirri, Candido Fabrizio
Verga, Francesca
Lamberti, Andrea
Menin, Barbara
author_sort Abdel Azim, Annalisa
collection PubMed
description Methanogenic archaea stand out as multipurpose biocatalysts for different applications in wide-ranging industrial sectors due to their crucial role in the methane (CH(4)) cycle and ubiquity in natural environments. The increasing demand for raw materials required by the manufacturing sector (i.e., metals-, concrete-, chemicals-, plastic- and lubricants-based industries) represents a milestone for the global economy and one of the main sources of CO(2) emissions. Recovery of critical raw materials (CRMs) from byproducts generated along their supply chain, rather than massive mining operations for mineral extraction and metal smelting, represents a sustainable choice. Demand for lithium (Li), included among CRMs in 2023, grew by 17.1% in the last decades, mostly due to its application in rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. In addition to mineral deposits, the natural resources of Li comprise water, ranging from low Li concentrations (seawater and freshwater) to higher ones (salt lakes and artificial brines). Brines from water desalination can be high in Li content which can be recovered. However, biological brine treatment is not a popular methodology. The methanogenic community has already demonstrated its ability to recover several CRMs which are not essential to their metabolism. Here, we attempt to interconnect the well-established biomethanation process with Li recovery from brines, by analyzing the methanogenic species which may be suitable to grow in brine-like environments and the corresponding mechanism of recovery. Moreover, key factors which should be considered to establish the techno-economic feasibility of this process are here discussed.
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spelling pubmed-104342142023-08-18 Perspective on the use of methanogens in lithium recovery from brines Abdel Azim, Annalisa Vizzarro, Arianna Bellini, Ruggero Bassani, Ilaria Baudino, Luisa Pirri, Candido Fabrizio Verga, Francesca Lamberti, Andrea Menin, Barbara Front Microbiol Microbiology Methanogenic archaea stand out as multipurpose biocatalysts for different applications in wide-ranging industrial sectors due to their crucial role in the methane (CH(4)) cycle and ubiquity in natural environments. The increasing demand for raw materials required by the manufacturing sector (i.e., metals-, concrete-, chemicals-, plastic- and lubricants-based industries) represents a milestone for the global economy and one of the main sources of CO(2) emissions. Recovery of critical raw materials (CRMs) from byproducts generated along their supply chain, rather than massive mining operations for mineral extraction and metal smelting, represents a sustainable choice. Demand for lithium (Li), included among CRMs in 2023, grew by 17.1% in the last decades, mostly due to its application in rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. In addition to mineral deposits, the natural resources of Li comprise water, ranging from low Li concentrations (seawater and freshwater) to higher ones (salt lakes and artificial brines). Brines from water desalination can be high in Li content which can be recovered. However, biological brine treatment is not a popular methodology. The methanogenic community has already demonstrated its ability to recover several CRMs which are not essential to their metabolism. Here, we attempt to interconnect the well-established biomethanation process with Li recovery from brines, by analyzing the methanogenic species which may be suitable to grow in brine-like environments and the corresponding mechanism of recovery. Moreover, key factors which should be considered to establish the techno-economic feasibility of this process are here discussed. Frontiers Media S.A. 2023-08-02 /pmc/articles/PMC10434214/ /pubmed/37601371 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1233221 Text en Copyright © 2023 Abdel Azim, Vizzarro, Bellini, Bassani, Baudino, Pirri, Verga, Lamberti and Menin. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Microbiology
Abdel Azim, Annalisa
Vizzarro, Arianna
Bellini, Ruggero
Bassani, Ilaria
Baudino, Luisa
Pirri, Candido Fabrizio
Verga, Francesca
Lamberti, Andrea
Menin, Barbara
Perspective on the use of methanogens in lithium recovery from brines
title Perspective on the use of methanogens in lithium recovery from brines
title_full Perspective on the use of methanogens in lithium recovery from brines
title_fullStr Perspective on the use of methanogens in lithium recovery from brines
title_full_unstemmed Perspective on the use of methanogens in lithium recovery from brines
title_short Perspective on the use of methanogens in lithium recovery from brines
title_sort perspective on the use of methanogens in lithium recovery from brines
topic Microbiology
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10434214/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37601371
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2023.1233221
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