Biobeneficiation of Bauxite ore using Bacillus polymyxa

Bio-beneficiation refers to the removal of undesirable mineral component from an ore by microbes, which bring about their selective dissolution thereby enriching the desired mineral constituents in the solid ore matrix. Preliminary screening of the mine water sample from bauxite ore deposits in Jamnagar, India was done and Bacillus polymyxa was isolated from it. Bauxite which is an economically important mineral is used in the extraction of aluminium and in the manufacture of refractories. The mined ore needs to be beneficiated and the major two impurities in bauxite ore are iron and calcium. A biotechnological route has proved to be cheaper, environmentally benign and less complex than physico-chemical process. Thus the objective of this work was to find an innovative method for the removal of the impurities from the ore. The efficiency of Bacillus polymyxa in this biobenefication process was determined by conducting the experiments on some pure minerals. The electrophoretic mobilities which bring about the surface chemical modification on both minerals and cells, , adsorption and dissolution tests were conducted to determine the effect of the cells on these pure minerals.

Autorentext

Vijaya B has obtained her M.Sc , M.Phil and Ph.D degree from Department of Microbiology and Biotechnology,Jnanabharathi Campus, Bangalore University, Bangalore. She is currently working as Head of the PG Department of Biotechnology of S.R.N.Adarsh College, Chamarajpet,Bangalore, India for the past 11 years.