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Bacterial recovery and recycling of tellurium from tellurium‐containing compounds by P seudoalteromonas sp. EPR 3
Author(s) -
Bonificio W.D.,
Clarke D.R.
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
journal of applied microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.889
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1365-2672
pISSN - 1364-5072
DOI - 10.1111/jam.12629
Subject(s) - tellurium , cadmium telluride photovoltaics , chemistry , materials science , inorganic chemistry , nanotechnology
Aims Tellurium‐based devices, such as photovoltaic ( PV ) modules and thermoelectric generators, are expected to play an increasing role in renewable energy technologies. Tellurium, however, is one of the scarcest elements in the earth's crust, and current production and recycling methods are inefficient and use toxic chemicals. This study demonstrates an alternative, bacterially mediated tellurium recovery process. Methods and Results We show that the hydrothermal vent microbe P seudoalteromonas sp. strain EPR 3 can convert tellurium from a wide variety of compounds, industrial sources and devices into metallic tellurium and a gaseous tellurium species. These compounds include metallic tellurium (Te 0 ), tellurite (TeO 3 2− ), copper autoclave slime, tellurium dioxide (TeO 2 ), tellurium‐based PV material (cadmium telluride, CdTe) and tellurium‐based thermoelectric material (bismuth telluride, Bi 2 Te 3 ). Experimentally, this was achieved by incubating these tellurium sources with the EPR 3 in both solid and liquid media. Conclusions Despite the fact that many of these tellurium compounds are considered insoluble in aqueous solution, they can nonetheless be transformed by EPR 3, suggesting the existence of a steady state soluble tellurium concentration during tellurium transformation. Significance and Impact of the Study These experiments provide insights into the processes of tellurium precipitation and volatilization by bacteria, and their implications on tellurium production and recycling.