Microbial Entrapment of Sulphate Reducing Bacteria for Treatment and Metal Recovery of Mining Influenced Waters (2025-2026)
Abstract
This project aims to develop and test Microbial Entrapment Technology (MET) for efficient and cost-effective mining wastewater treatment, targeting sulphates removal and metals recovery through sulphate reducing bacteria for mine-site remediation. MET is expected to reduce capital costs by 50% and operational costs by 40%, achieved through protecting and up-concentrating cell density in bioreactors while reducing waste sludge. Additionally, MET can recover metals during wastewater treatment to unlock critical minerals in mine waste. Currently at TRL 4, the project aims to reach TRL 5 in this AEA project by demonstrating its functionality in real mining wastewater and assessing the feasibility of scale-up manufacturing.
