Microbial Leaching of Uranium from Low Grade Ore and Waste Sample of Northern Part of Gabal Gatter, Egypt Using Penicillium Purpurogenium and Pseudomonas fluorescens SHA 281

Abstract

Uranium (U) is one of the strategic elements and essential for many applications as a fuel in nuclear power plants and nuclear weapons. Microbiological leaching has been used as an alternative approach to conventional hydrometallurgical methods of uranium's recovery from low grade ores and waste samples Penicillium purpurogenium and Pseudomonas fluorescens SHA 281 were exhibited a good potential in generating varieties of organic acids effective for bioleaching uranium. Efficiency of bioleaching was studied by varying parameters like pulp density and incubation period. Indeed, it was observed that the highest percentages of bioleached uranium from the tested samples directly by Penicillium purpurogenium were found to be 72.49, 55.60 % at a pulp density 300 gm/L after 9 days of incubation at 30 oC and 57.47, 60.06 % by P. fluorescens SHA 281 after 8 days of incubation at 35 o C using shaking incubator at 175 rpm from (T-2)80 and waste sample (W1), respectively