Skip to main content
Go to the home page of the European Commission (opens in new window)
English English
CORDIS - EU research results
CORDIS

Feasibility study on nature based more efficient 2-step bioleaching technology producing methane gas and metal compounds from “low grade” multimetallic European ores/wastes containing organometallics.

Objective

SME is developing new nature based bioleaching routes for different organics and metals containing ores/wastes having metal compounds trapped in metallo-organic complexes. The effectiveness of the bioleaching process of ores considered so far as “low grade” is raised by 3 factors in BiotaTec (BT) approach: higher yield of metals, lower energy costs due to generation of methane gas, no additional costs for cooling of bioleaching. Bioleaching is growingly popular for processing low-grade ores as a cheap, reliable, efficient and environmentally friendly way to extract metals.
In many ores, metals are present in 2 forms - as sulphides or in organo-metallic compounds called metallo-porphyrins. Although there is an extensive list of bioleaching studies using sulphide concentrates, much less is known about the microbial decomposition of organo-metallic complexes. The presence of organic material is believed to be the obstacle of efficient bioleaching of metals from specific European ores. The key component of the BT solutions is nutritional medium which is effective in activating special consortia of microorganisms.
BT has found and deposited a mixture of hetherotrophic neutrophils and methanogenic archaea - a consortium of microorganisms that degrades the organic complex in anaerobic conditions at neutral pH and also leaches some metal compounds in the same anaerobic process. BiotaTec has drafted a new possible route for a low-grade ore /end of life products bioleaching process. The objective of a project is to evaluate the economic feasibility of the developed technological solution for ores in Europe - in situations where extracting valuable metals from ores has been either impossible or not cost-efficient and environmentally friendly due to large quantities of strong acids needed to break the complex. BiotaTec foresees becoming a provider of proprietary nutritional medium and support services for mining industries.

Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)

CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.

You need to log in or register to use this function

Programme(s)

Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.

Topic(s)

Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.

Funding Scheme

Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.

SME-1 - SME instrument phase 1

See all projects funded under this funding scheme

Call for proposal

Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.

(opens in new window) H2020-SMEInst-2016-2017

See all projects funded under this call

Coordinator

BIOTATEC OU
Net EU contribution

Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.

€ 50 000,00
Address
Riia 23
51010 Tartu
Estonia

See on map

SME

The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.

Yes
Region
Eesti Eesti Lõuna-Eesti
Activity type
Private for-profit entities (excluding Higher or Secondary Education Establishments)
Links
Total cost

The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.

€ 71 429,00
My booklet 0 0