Bacteria that capture lithiumThe Biometallum company is...

Bacteria that capture lithiumThe Biometallum company is developing a new method to extract lithium from brine in just a few hours and without the need to evaporate water, which would imply less environmental impact. It is based on the use of bacteria capable of absorbing this mineral and they already received an investment from a Santa Fe fund to build prototypes and scale the project.By Matías Alonso__TSS Agency - Climate change requires looking for more efficient ways to generate and use energy. Electromobility seems to be one of the ways that will improve the energy performance of the vehicles we use to move. Lithium, the metal that has the most energy differential throughout the periodic table, is one of the most used materials for the manufacture of electric batteries and that is why countries such as Argentina, which have large deposits, are facing the opportunity to develop a new industry.In Argentina, lithium is found in salt flats, dissolved in brine. To extract it, this brine is exposed to the sun in large pools that allow it to be concentrated and then, through chemical processes, the lithium carbonate necessary to make batteries is obtained. This process depends a lot on exposure to the sun and can take more than a year, in addition to the fact that it involves the evaporation of large amounts of water in places where it is very scarce.Chemicals are also added to that water so that they decant the salts in which you have no interest. This allows about 50% of the lithium in the brine to be isolated. The rest, mixed with other minerals, will remain in the earth salinizing the soil more. Evaporation production plants occupy very large land: they can reach a thousand hectares.In Argentina, lithium is found in salt flats, dissolved in brine. To extract it, this brine is exposed to the sun in large pools that allow it to be concentrated and then, through chemical processes, the lithium carbonate used for batteries is obtained.The delays involved in this production process mean that all mineral supply contracts must be made in long terms, without the possibility of increasing production in times of high demand. 20% of world lithium sales are made with spot prices that are much more expensive than the other 80% of sales made for long-term contracts. This difference is obtained by those who have the mineral in rock deposits, such as Australia and China, or intermediaries.An Argentine company, Biometallum, is researching to develop a new method to extract lithium in just a few hours and without the need to evaporate the water. It is based on the use of bacteria capable of absorbing lithium inside, which are then extracted and refined in a short time, with fewer chemicals harmful to the environment and with low costs. Marcos Pacchiele is the researcher who leads this work and told TSS: "We develop a biological magnet using bacteria that have high selectivity for lithium. This is how biomembranes are created, a kind of biofilm that retains lithium. In some containers we pump the brine and leave them for an hour or two so that they selectively capture the lithium. Then the water from the brine is reinjected underground and the biomembranes are washed, an acid digestion, so that they release lithium in a process that takes about four hours."This technique has been tested on a laboratory scale, using proof of concept and experimental critical function. And now they have made investments that allow them to finance the construction of a prototype of this technology. It is not the only experimental alternative for obtaining lithium with the least environmental impact, since researchers from INQUIMAE, at the University of Buenos Aires, also developed a non-polluting solution for its application on an industrial scale."We will allocate 75% of the funding we obtained to research and development. We are looking for human resources, services and equipment to make measurements," Pacchiele said."We selected 32 bacteria out of the 730 to which we had access and interest. It was important that they were spore-forming, and biofilm-forming, because by forming spores we can transport them without conditioning. Also, obviously, they had to be resistant to brine, which is a very hostile environment. Then we are left with six that we begin to manipulate with biotechnology to improve their lithium absorption capacity. They are very robust, resist the thermal amplitude of the salt pans, saline changes, and do not have much dependence on energy. So it's easy to take them to the brine and put them to work. We also needed them not to use fresh water because they are usually places where it is not easily accessible," Pacchiele said.The agrobiotechnology company Bioceres invested in Biometallum through the SF500 fund (which also integrates the province of Santa Fe and which usually invests in technology-based companies between 250,000 and 600,000 dollars) to promote the project. The program studied Biometallum for four months from the technical point of view and the business perspective, to give it a structure and financing for the development of technology, prototypes and to access other investment rounds that allow it to reach a final product.With the method used by the company, the brine is not chemically treated, but only the lithium is extracted. This would allow the other minerals in the brine (such as potassium and sodium chloride, among others) to remain intact, so they could be extracted with secondary methods.The same method can be used to recover lithium from worn-out batteries. Today lithium is not recycled because it is very difficult to chemically separate it from the cobalt or nickel used in batteries. Although today Biometallum, for budgetary reasons, is concentrating its development on the brine extraction line, in the near future it could also aim for the reuse of that lithium."We are talking to a mining company to unite and share our technology with them, and use its structure to reach a pilot scale and test it in their plants," Pacchiele told TSS. And he added: "75% of the funding we obtained will be allocated to research and development. We are looking for human resources, services and equipment to make measurements," he said, and warned that they are currently looking for young biotechnologists to carry out the escalation of the project.