Gold recycling from microchip using bacteria(the biogeochemical cycle of gold)

It was on Friday,after a hectic lecture by our most respected professor by name Ejezie. It happened that most of the topics taught by this man are always interesting not minding the time speculation involved during his lectures.

Anyway i won't mind staying 3-4 hours in class as long as I am acquiring a new knowledge.

On that fateful afternoon after the lecture we had with this man. He ended up his lecture by giving out a seminar topic,which we are meant to present in one week time in his next class.

This topic was so strange to me because of the little knowledge I had over it.

Base on the research I made after I came back from lectures. I was able to come up with an answer which I will like to share with you guys.

Today I am raising another subject called gold reusing from microchip utilizing microbes(or can be called biogeochemical cycle of gold). In this subject you will become acquainted with how gold can be gotten once again from a microchip utilizing microorganisms. This strategy for utilizing microbes to recoup gold will lessen the disservice or hazard figure included utilizing other substance, for example, sulphuric acid,nitric acid,hydrochloric corrosive and hardened steel pot in the recuperating of gold.

Go along with me as I move down to give a point by point illumination on how this substance can be recouped.

Gold is a natural heavy yellow metal with an atomic number of 79. This element is one of the most valuable substance in the world which serves a function in the manufacturing of many material such as jewelries, shoes and many others.

_{gold nugget,pixabay}

Most times after the production of microchip using gold. This gold can actually be recovered if this particular object produced with it is no longer in use. Obtaining this gold from this microchip may be useful to produce another new modern technological equipment which will serve a lot of function.

Normally extraction of gold from a microchip always involves the use of corrosive substances which must pass through electrolysis before obtaining a new product.

Recently scientists has unraveled another means of obtaining those gold with the use of bacteria. This bacteria are like the normal bacteria we see with the use of microscope but due to lack of knowledge on its function we were unable to detect the powerful work of this bacteria. The bacteria I am talking about are cupriavidus metalliduvans and delftia acidovorans.

After identification of this bacteria. Yew one of the scientist who realised the working pattern of this bacteria said,

When this gold are immersed in bacteria, the metals are dissolved and then converted into solid gold without the need for electrolysis.source

He also went ahead to say that using this particular bacteria to remove gold from a microchip will reduce the rate at which cyanide poisoning are gotten from electrolytic method of extraction.

At this point i am expected to be asked a question on how a single bacteria can help to extract those gold if it is in large quantity or do we have a way of multiplying those bacteria in other to meet up with the number of microchip that needed extraction.
This question are very easy only if we understood the knowledge of discrete colony. Anyway let us look at what discrete colony is all about and how we can apply it if the need arises.

By definition discrete colony is the process of isolating a particular species of organism from multitude of others and trying to find a way of Increasing the quantity of such bacteria. In discrete colony different plates can be used depending on the particular species of bacteria to be cultured. In medical field most especially in the field of diagnostic medicine. Many plates are used to culture organism. The reason for this culture is to multiply a given organism which causes a particular ailment. This plates used in culturing those organism are applied also in this case.

The different plates we have are blood agar,chocolate agar plate and others. These plates can be used to put an isolated bacteria gotten from else where. This is done by making a streak with a loop sterilized with a Bunsen burner.

After that the loop is sterilized again and allow to cool. Another line are drawn in zig-zag manner at the center of each quadrant.
Then the plate are then incubated for up to 24 hours. This Incubation is done in other to enable the adequate growth of such organism and to obtain a large quantity of those bacteria needed to dissolve those microchip.

Since we have explained how this bacteria are multiplied, it will be more understandable if we go ahead to explain in detail on how this gold are gotten from this microchip. Let begin by knowing what frank has to say about this gold extraction from the microchip.

According to Dr Frank Reith

In the natural environment, primary gold makes its way into soils,sediment and water ways through biogeochemical weathering and eventually ends up in ocean. With the role of microbes, he adds:on the way bacteria can dissolve and reconcentrate gold. This process removes most of the silver and forms gold nuggets.source

Base on this explanation given by frank,you will understand that this bacteria are obtained from soil where it is found to be the bacteria involved in forming gold nuggets. This bacteria is called delftia acidovorans which contains king Midas like touch that act as a self defense mechanism when dissolving gold in other to prevent gold toxicity (gold are toxic to this bacteria). A second type of bacteria that can also produce gold nuggets is cupriavidus metallidurans which also has the same function like Delftia acidovorans. These two bacteria works by dissolving out gold from the microchip when placed on it.

the way gold are being removed from this microchip are not the same if this gold are being mixed up with copper or only when copper are found in this bacteria alone. Accumulation of only copper in this bacteria triggers an enzyme cupA which helps in pumping out those copper.

If copper are mixed with gold inside this bacteria. It leads to suppression of this bacteria. In other to conquer this,the bacteria produces another enzyme called copA. This enzyme brings back both gold and copper into it's unabsorbed formed. This helps to regulate the amount of coper and gold that enters the cellular interior.

Aside gold nuggets formation, delftia acidovorans is an aerobic non fermenting gram negative bacillus. It is a non pathogenic bacteria that does not have a clinical important. Apart from soil where this bacteria are found,it can also be present in water,respiratory tract,blood and the eyes.

Coming to cupriavidus metallidurans. It is also a gram negative rod shaped bacteria that has the ability to resist toxic heavy metals. It forms a flat and convex colonies with 0•5mm in diameter. It also does not grow outside the range of 20-37 degree centigrade.

Conclusion

Normally gold recycling is a process that involves the use of chemicals. These chemicals are found to be toxic when exposed to man due to fume spread out. This method is quite dangerous because of cyanide that it contains.

Identification of these bacteria cupriavidus metallidurans and delftia acidovorans has been a break record in the history of science due to it's ability to form gold nuggets from microchip.

Scientists has tested and confirmed that this bacteria will go a long way to help in the recovering of this gold by placing the microchip on it.