Bioleaching metal-bearing wastes and by-products for resource recovery: a review

Abstract The global transition to a circular economy calls for research and development on technologies facilitating sustainable resource recovery from wastes by-products. Metal-bearing materials, including electronic wastes, tailings, metallurgical by-products, are increasingly viewed as valuable resources, with some possessing comparable or superior quality natural ores. Bioleaching, an eco-friendly cost-effective alternative conventional hydrometallurgical pyrometallurgical methods, uses microorganisms their metabolites extract metals unwanted metal-bearing materials. performance of bioleaching is influenced by pH, solid concentration, energy source, agitation rate, irrigation aeration inoculum concentration. Optimizing these parameters improves yields encourages the wider application bioleaching. Here, we review microbial diversity specific mechanisms metal recovery. We describe current operations approaches at various scales summarise influence broad range operational parameters. Finally, address primary challenges in scaling up applications propose optimisation strategy future research.