UTILIZATION OF PAENIBACILLUS POLYMYXA IN THE RECOVERY OF LITHIUM BEARING MINERALS

In the global transition to green energy in the transportation and power production sectors, lithium has emerged as a viable solution, and crucial component, for the effective storage of renewable resources. To avoid further degradation of the land due to mining for virgin material, methods focused on recovering lithium must be developed. This research project seeks to explore a new way to recover lithium by using the bacterium Paenibacillus polymyxa. The bacteria were grown and then applied to the lithium bearing mineral spodumene. Settling velocity profiles were constructed for different treatments of spodumene. It was found that the spodumene exposed to P. polymyxa had a slower settling velocity profile compared to unexposed spodumene. This result implies that the bacterium successfully adhered to spodumene and easier recovery of the mineral from waste material is possible