China Nonferrous Metallurgy

Under the background of current energy shortage, carbon peaking and carbon neutralization, bioleaching technology has been widely used in the extraction of various mineral resources due to its advantages of low cost, low pollution, and simple operation. However, due to the slow leaching rate, its practical application has been seriously affected. Therefore, this paper discussed the enhancement effect of the applied electric field on bioleaching, and the effect of the applied electric field on the extracellular electron transfer, cell permeability and community of microbial cells was taken as an example to analyze the mechanism of the enhanced microbial leaching by the applied electric field. Finally, the influence of the applied electric field on the metal dissolution rate, solute and the seepage capacity of microorganisms during the leaching process was analyzed.The methods to improve the bioleaching efficiency from the perspective of electrochemical strengthening were proposed, which can be of reference for future research in this field.