Extraction and recovery of precious metals from electronic waste printed circuit boards by bioleaching acidophilic fungi

Printed circuit boards contain precious metals. They are produced in large volumes, rendering them an important component of the electronic waste. In view of the heterogeneity of the metals present, reprocessing of electronic waste is a heinous task. The present study focused on leaching of valuable metals from electronic waste printed circuit boards using Aspergillus niger DDNS1. The adaptation phases began at 0.1, 0.5 and 1.0% of fine powder of printed circuit boards with 10% inoculum and were optimized with three effective factors, viz. initial pH, particle size and pulp density, to achieve the maximum simultaneous recovery of the valuable metals. The interactions of these metals were also deciphered using scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectrum and atomic absorption spectroscopy. The results indicated that extraction of the precious metals was accomplished mainly through the unique organic acids originating from A. niger DDNS1. The initial pH played an important role in the extraction of the precious metals and the metals precipitate formation. The leaching rate of the metals was generally higher at low powder dosage of printed circuit boards. The toxicity of the printed circuit boards had little effect on two-step bioleaching at the pulp density of 0.1% compared to one-step bioleaching. The two-step bioleaching process was followed under organic acid-forming conditions for the maximum mobilization of metals. Thus, the precious metals from printed circuit boards could be mobilized through fungal bioleaching which promises an important industrial application in recycling of electronic wastes.     

Rare earth elements in the clay fraction of coaliferous sediments of the Arkagalinskoe (Magadan district) and Dolinskoe (Sakhalin Island) coalfields

The study of REE distribution in the clay fraction of sedimentary rocks from two coalfields made it possible to distinguish several types of REE distribution, which correlate with their mineral composition. It is shown that the REE fractionation was related to the mineral reconstruction of the primary clay fraction and some detrital minerals in the course of postsedimentary transformations of rocks during diagenesis, early catagenesis, and beginning of late catagenesis. These transformations were governed by several factors, such as the composition of sediments; hydrochemical features of accumulation environment; the chemical composition, dynamics, and feeding sources of pore solutions; the porosity and permeability of sediments and rocks; and the content of organic matter and its reaction ability.     

Risk Assessment and Disaster Management for Natural and Anthropogenically Induced Geologic Hazards: Application to the Preolkhon Region,Western Lake Baikal,Siberia, Russia

In the Western Lake Baikal, recent Baikal Rift's tectonics control the topography, seismicity, climate, geomorphology, and economy. Scarps, facets, structural terraces, horsts and grabens, and trapezoid valleys can be clearly observed. They have been generated by the recent tectonic movements along the faults and represent a serious geologic hazard. The specific geological conditions predetermine a unique variety of landscapes. Thus, the main type of the economy is tourism. However, unorganized tourism leads to the degradation of the unique landscapes. It increases risk and requires disaster management. Three criteria has been used for risk assessment: (1) degree of geologic hazard; (2) degree of landscape degradation; and (3) degree of the economy's vitality. The high ecological significance and low stability to antropogeneous pressure are typical for landscapes of the Western Lake Baikal. Thus, some special activities of disaster management should be implemented based on our investigation.