British researchers have developed an environmentally friendly method to recycle batteries in electric vehicles.
The technique called bioleaching or biomining uses microbes to recover the metals used in the composition of batteries, explains the site
Electric Cars Report
.
The extraction of these materials is usually carried out in factories.
These plants are "expensive to build and to operate and they require sophisticated equipment to deal with the harmful emissions resulting from the fusion" of metals, explained Sebastien Farnaud, professor at the University of Coventry (United Kingdom).
He lamented that despite its financial and ecological cost, the device rarely allows all metals to be extracted from used batteries.
A method already used
In Europe, only 5% of lithium-ion batteries are recycled, said the specialist, co-creator of this innovation.
The recovery and reuse of bioleaching metals would notably reduce the damage that mining causes on the ecosystem and the inhabitants of the Atacama Desert, in South America, where the majority of the world's lithium comes from.
Biomining uses bacteria selected for their properties.
They are indeed capable of oxidizing specific metals by integrating their metabolism.
The method was already used in some mines to separate raw materials from ore or to extract metals from circuit boards, solar panels, contaminated water and even radioactive waste.
However, this is its first use in this sector.
One of the microorganisms chosen for the bioleaching of electric car batteries is Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans.
It is accompanied by other non-toxic bacteria.
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