Understanding the corrosion of uranium is important for its safe, long-term storage. Uranium metal corrodes rapidly in air, but the exact mechanism remains subject to debate. Atom Probe Tomography was used to investigate the surface microstructure of metallic depleted uranium specimens following polishing and exposure to moist air. A complex, corrugated metal-oxide interface was observed, with ...

Fish depend on their sense of smell for a wide range of vital life processes including finding food, avoiding predators and reproduction. Various contaminants, including metals, can disrupt recognition of chemical information in fish at very low concentrations. Numerous studies have investigated metal effects on fish olfaction under controlled laboratory conditions. However, few have measured o...

The modes of action of the commercial solvent extractants used in extractive hydrometallurgy are classified according to whether the recovery process involves the transport of metal cations, M(n+), metalate anions, MXx(n-), or metal salts, MXx into a water-immiscible solvent. Well-established principles of coordination chemistry provide an explanation for the remarkable strengths and selectivit...

Bioleaching, a novel biotechnological process, is used to eliminate heavy metals from contaminated sediments by acidification as well as solubilization of heavy metals. Metals from poor-quality ore and mineral compounds are removed by Bioleaching process, which is simple and low cost effective technology. Acidophilic sulfur oxidizing bacteria (Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans, Acidithiobacillus t...

Wastewaters from precious metal industries contain high amounts of noble metals, but their efficient recycling is hindered by the wastewater complex composition. Here, we propose an innovative approach for recovery metals contained in these metal-enriched wastewaters as precursors synthesis nanoparticles (NPs) and supported catalysts. Silver NPs were synthesized Ag-enriched then deposited on Ti...

The metal mining industry faces many large challenges in future years, among which is the increasing need to process low-grade ores as accessible higher grade ores become depleted. This is against a backdrop of increasing global demands for base and precious metals, and rare earth elements. Typically about 99% of solid material hauled to, and ground at, the land surface currently ends up as was...

Protein-metal coordination interactions were recently found to function as crucial mechanical cross-links in certain biological materials. Mussels, for example, use Fe ions from the local environment coordinated to DOPA-rich proteins to stiffen the protective cuticle of their anchoring byssal attachment threads. Bioavailability of metal ions in ocean habitats varies significantly owing to natur...

Most phosphate-processing enzymes require Mg(2+) as a cofactor to catalyze nucleotide cleavage and transfer reactions. Ca(2+) ions inhibit many of these enzymatic activities, despite Ca(2+) and Mg(2+) having comparable binding affinities and overall biological abundances. Here we study the molecular details of the calcium inhibition mechanism for phosphodiester cleavage, an essential reaction i...

First LCA study for assessing the environmental performance of BESs metal recovery application.