B.r.a.i.n. Biotechnology Research and Information Network Ag

Brain Ag

Cyplus Gmbh

Cvplus Gmbh

Brain Biotech Ag

Yvonne Tiffert

Michael Krohn

Jürgen Eck

Guido Meurer

Andrea Christiansen

Xin Lu

Esther Gabor

Martin Langer

Stephen Gos

Benedikt Hoffmann

Ester Gabor

Marco Fiedler

Christian Naumer

Jorg Reichert

Bendikt Hoffmann

Jörg Reichert

The invention provides an assay for identifying a bacterium capable of binding elemental heavy metal, comprising the following steps: cultivating a test bacterium in a suitable first culture medium; immersing at least a surface portion of a test tool into the first culture medium for a second predetermined period of time, said surface portion being coated by elemental heavy metal, respectively; removing said test tool from said first culture medium and optionally rinsing the test tool; contacting a second culture medium with the surface portion coated by elemental heavy metal of said test tool removed in the previous step; and identifying the test bacterium as being capable of binding elemental heavy metal from growth of the test bacterium in said second culture medium.

Biological ore processing for the isolation of heavy metals

Suggested is a method for recovering precious metals from secondary resources comprising or consisting of the following steps: (a) providing a source of solid waste material comprising precious metals in an amount of at least 0.0001% b.w.; (b) bringing said waste material into contact with heterotrophic micro-organisms capable of producing and releasing hydrocyanic acid; (c) adding a solvent or an aqueous nutrient solution capable of serving as a nutrient source for said micro-organisms to the mixture; (d) depleting said waste materials from the precious metals contained therein by complexation of the metals with said hydrocyanic acid released by said micro-organisms; (e) separating the depleted solid waste material from the liquid containing the metal-cyano complexes; (f) recovering the precious metals from their cyano-complexes in known manner.

Process for recovering precious metals from secondary resources

The invention provides a process of isolating or enriching a heavy metal present in a liquid medium. The process comprising the following steps: (a) incubating a suspension containing (i) particulate scrap metal, household waste and/or industrial waste containing a heavy metal in elemental form and (ii) biomass comprising a bacterium, or a combination of two or more bacteria, capable of binding the heavy metal; (b) separating the biomass having bound heavy metal from the suspension of step (a); and (c) isolating the heavy metal from the biomass separated in step (b).

Biological processing of scrap metal, household waste and/or industrial waste for the isolation of heavy metals

The invention provides a process of isolating or enriching a heavy metal present in a suspension containing a particulate mineral ore containing a heavy metal, comprising the following steps: incubating a suspension containing (i) a particulate mineral ore containing a heavy metal and (ii) biomass comprising a bacterium capable of binding the heavy metal; separating the biomass having bound heavy metal from the suspension of the previous step; and isolating the heavy metal from the biomass separated in the previous step.

Growing community of inventors

Mannheim, Germany

Yvonne Tiffert