Tuesday, 21 February 2023
A project involving the University of Nottingham, which is looking to find a plant-based alternative for the recovery of gold, silver, and copper nanoparticles from mining waste, has received £375,000 in funding.
Researchers will combine a plant-based technique called phytomining, where plants absorb metal ions through their roots, with an advanced biotechnological approach to retrieve the resulting metal nanoparticles from the waste.
Using native UK plants to retrieve metal nanoparticles such as gold, silver and copper from mine tailings taken from Cononish Mine in Scotland, the team will investigate the potential of using the waste for conversion into biogas or other value-added bioproducts.
Led by Scotland’s Rural College, the University of Nottingham’s Jon McKechnie will support alongside the universities of York and Edinburgh, as well as Scotgold Resources and Promethean Particles.
Metallic nanoparticles have a wide range of current and emerging applications. This project aims to identify efficient routes to their manufacture from mining wastes, at low cost and with minimal environmental impact.
The project aims to generate unprecedented knowledge about using phytomining to produce biogenic nanoparticles from metal-rich waste, facilitating a first-time assessment of their potential in a range of sectors, such as industrial, environmental and biomedical.
Dr Luis Novo, lead researcher and an SRUC Challenge Research Fellow, said: “The ever-growing build-up of mine waste across the planet constitutes an opportunity for the recovery of residual metals of technological significance.
There has been increased interest in biogenic NPs due to advantages over chemically synthesized NPs. In this light, producing NPs via phytomining heralds great promise as it would represent a low-cost, eco-friendly and carbon-neutral strategy to farm nanoparticles from residues.
The research has been funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), following a call for projects that offer biotechnological solutions to reduce environmental impact in either the textile industry or recovery of technology-relevant metals.
Story credits
More information is available from Jon McKechnie, in the Faculty of Engineering, at jon.mckechnie@nottingham.ac.uk or; Danielle Hall, Media Relations Manager at the University of Nottingham, at danielle.hall@nottingham.ac.uk or 0115 846 7156.
Notes to editors:
About the University of Nottingham
Ranked 32 in Europe and 16th in the UK by the QS World University Rankings: Europe 2024, the University of Nottingham is a founding member of the Russell Group of research-intensive universities. Studying at the University of Nottingham is a life-changing experience, and we pride ourselves on unlocking the potential of our students. We have a pioneering spirit, expressed in the vision of our founder Sir Jesse Boot, which has seen us lead the way in establishing campuses in China and Malaysia - part of a globally connected network of education, research and industrial engagement.
Nottingham was crowned Sports University of the Year by The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024 – the third time it has been given the honour since 2018 – and by the Daily Mail University Guide 2024.
The university is among the best universities in the UK for the strength of our research, positioned seventh for research power in the UK according to REF 2021. The birthplace of discoveries such as MRI and ibuprofen, our innovations transform lives and tackle global problems such as sustainable food supplies, ending modern slavery, developing greener transport, and reducing reliance on fossil fuels.
The university is a major employer and industry partner - locally and globally - and our graduates are the second most targeted by the UK's top employers, according to The Graduate Market in 2022 report by High Fliers Research.
We lead the Universities for Nottingham initiative, in partnership with Nottingham Trent University, a pioneering collaboration between the city’s two world-class institutions to improve levels of prosperity, opportunity, sustainability, health and wellbeing for residents in the city and region we are proud to call home.
More news…