Once in Royal David's Se-Te
Photograph A: chalcocite veins with malachite cementing conglomerate.
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Sample: Chalcocite
veins with malachite cementing conglomerate
Locality: Huglith Mine, Shrewsbury, UK Primary Commodities: Barytes and copper Museum scientists are exploring the possibilities of using microbes to develop a more sustainable and environmentally acceptable means of extracting selenium (Se) and tellurium (Te). The sample in photograph A is one of nine samples from the Museum’s ore collection helping with this study.
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Going organic
The future looks promising for Se and Te as demand for both of these (semi)metallic elements is expected to increase as society strives for cleaner technology (Moss et al., 2011) (Defra, 2012). However, a problem arises as both Se and Te are relatively scarce and are typically only extracted as a by-product of copper processing (USGS, 2014).
Scientists know that organic-rich rocks – such as coal – can contain high concentrations of Se and Te. They also know that microbes have the ability to ‘concentrate’ both of these elements. Using this knowledge, Museum scientists are looking into what causes Se and Te to become concentrated in organic-rich environments and how microbes could perhaps be used to extract both elements on a commercial scale.
This is not the first project looking at the use of microbes in the extraction of metals from their ores. Visit window nine to read about how Museum scientists are looking at using this method to extract cobalt.
References
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The future looks promising for Se and Te as demand for both of these (semi)metallic elements is expected to increase as society strives for cleaner technology (Moss et al., 2011) (Defra, 2012). However, a problem arises as both Se and Te are relatively scarce and are typically only extracted as a by-product of copper processing (USGS, 2014).
Scientists know that organic-rich rocks – such as coal – can contain high concentrations of Se and Te. They also know that microbes have the ability to ‘concentrate’ both of these elements. Using this knowledge, Museum scientists are looking into what causes Se and Te to become concentrated in organic-rich environments and how microbes could perhaps be used to extract both elements on a commercial scale.
This is not the first project looking at the use of microbes in the extraction of metals from their ores. Visit window nine to read about how Museum scientists are looking at using this method to extract cobalt.
References
- Moss, R.L., Tzimas, E., Kara, H., Willis, P., and Kooroshy,
J., 2011. Critical Metals in Strategic Energy Technologies. Joint
Research Centre Scientific and Technical Reports. JRC 65592,
p.1-164.
- Defra., 2012. A Review of
National Resource Strategies and Research. PB 13722, p.1-109.
- United States Geological Survey. 2014. Selenium and Tellurium Statistics Information. [Online]. [28/11/2014] Available from: http://minerals.usgs.gov/minerals/pubs/commodity/selenium/
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