Abdel Azim Annalisa, Vizzarro Arianna, Bellini Ruggero, Bassani Ilaria, Baudino Luisa, Pirri Candido Fabrizio, Verga Francesca, Lamberti Andrea, Menin Barbara
Centre for Sustainable Future Technologies, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Turin, Italy.
Department of Environment, Land and Infrastructure Engineering, Politecnico di Torino, Turin, Italy.
Front Microbiol. 2023 Aug 2;14:1233221. doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1233221. eCollection 2023.
Methanogenic archaea stand out as multipurpose biocatalysts for different applications in wide-ranging industrial sectors due to their crucial role in the methane (CH) 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 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.
产甲烷古菌作为多功能生物催化剂，因其在甲烷（CH）循环中的关键作用以及在自然环境中的广泛存在，在众多工业领域有着不同的应用。制造业（即金属、混凝土、化工、塑料和润滑剂等行业）对原材料的需求不断增加，这对全球经济而言是一个里程碑，也是二氧化碳排放的主要来源之一。从供应链产生的副产品中回收关键原材料（CRMs），而非进行大规模的矿物开采和金属冶炼作业，是一种可持续的选择。2023年被列入关键原材料的锂（Li）的需求在过去几十年中增长了17.1%，这主要归因于其在可充电锂离子电池中的应用。除了矿床，锂的自然资源还包括水，从低锂浓度（海水和淡水）到高锂浓度（盐湖和人工卤水）不等。海水淡化产生的卤水中锂含量可能很高，可以从中回收。然而，生物卤水治理并非一种常用方法。产甲烷群落已经证明了其回收几种对其代谢并非必需的关键原材料的能力。在此，我们试图通过分析可能适合在类似卤水的环境中生长的产甲烷物种及其相应的回收机制，将成熟的生物甲烷化过程与从卤水中回收锂联系起来。此外，本文还讨论了建立该过程技术经济可行性时应考虑的关键因素。
