Abstract

Strategic precious metals, (SPMs) are important catalysts for chemical & pharmaceuticals, in addition to fuel cells and auto exhausts. As demand increases the price of SPMs is accelerating and the commercial and technical need for cost effective recycling becomes more pressing. Current recycling techniques use strong chemicals, are energy intensive and rather inefficient, for example only of the order of 6% of the SPMs in car catalysts are recovered.

This proposal seeks to synthesise novel and superior catalysts from recovered SPMs. The proposed route will combine two biotechnologies for clean SPM recovery with concomitant bulk biosynthesis of novel bionanocrystal catalytic materials. It will build on the results of an ongoing EU project to steer the structure of the harvested SPMs for simultaneous fine catalyst manufacture.

Contacts

Coordinator

• Ian DALRYMPTE / C-Tech Innovation Limited UNITED KINGDOM

Participant

• Jürgen HOFINGER, / Bonemaster Gesellschaft Fuer Biokompatible Systeme Mbh / GERMANY
• Etienne LE BRUN / Centre National De La Recherche Scientifique UPR 9036 Bioenergetique et Ingenierie des Proteines / FRANCE
• Alfred POST / Dresden University of Technology Institute of Material Science / GERMANY
• Frank POBELL / Research Center Rossendorf Institut Fuer Radiochemie / GERMANY
• Pierre LACAZE / S.A. Julien Lacaze Département des Techniques Energétiques et / FRANCE
• University of Birmingham School of Bioscience / UNITED KINGDOM
• Peter FRATZL / University of Mining and Metallurgy Institute of Metal Physics / AUSTRIA