Bioleaching of metals from cellphones batteries by a co-fungus medium in presence of carbon materials

Abstract Today, the increased rate of electronic portable devices has led to an unprecedented amount of electronic waste. The mass production of the new generation of batteries, such as lithium-ion and lithium-ion polymer batteries used in the electronic devices releases a high volume of toxic metals to the environment, causing pollution and affecting human health. Additionally, the release of vinasse from the ethanol industry causes negative and irrecoverable effects on humans and the environment. In this paper, we investigate an innovative and eco-friendly procedure for recycling metals in lithium-ion polymer batteries in the presence of a mixed fungal culture of Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus tubingensis and pure sucrose, impure sucrose, and vinasse in three different methods: one step bioleaching, two-step bioleaching, and spent medium bioleaching. A variety of analyses, done during this investigation, indicated that the metals were recycled successfully and with high efficiency through spent medium bioleaching.