Biogeotechnology for Industry and Land Management

Many industrial processes can be improved through the application of geochemistry and biotechnology. The new science of biogeotechnology provides opportunities to increase profitability, and also improve both environmental and social outcomes for Australia’s mining, water, agricultural, and environmental industries.

Particular attention is paid to the development of cleaner production methods, limiting off-site impacts and minimising the risks for those applications that will inevitably impact the environment in some way, such as the application of fertiliser in agriculture. Research can improve the sustainability of key industries through a scientific approach to problem solving.

Objectives

• Develop thermophilic heap bioleaching for the extraction of copper from chalcopyrite (in collaboration with CSIRO Minerals)
• Provide innovative solutions to the challenge of sustainable nutrient management in Australian soils, through the study of fertiliser (bio)geochemistry
• Advance technology for the treatment of wastes and the prevention of contamination
• Develop processes for the biological treatment of drinking water in Australia
• Develop environmental molecular diagnostics for biological function

Outcomes

• Thermophilic heap bioleaching for the extraction of copper from chalcopyrite
• Cost effective and environmentally sustainable management of nutrient inputs in Australian agricultural systems
• Novel fertiliser formulations and soil testing technologies
• Specialised waste treatment processes, featuring bioreactors
• New methods to prevent contamination in water bodies for healthy ecosystems
• Treatment methods for the production of biologically stable drinking water (with very low assimilable organic carbon and biologically degradable organic carbon)
• Commercial molecular diagnostic tools to assess the functional status of microbial populations in soils, sediments and aquatic environments

In the course of conducting research for industry and land management, fundamental scientific discoveries are also made: in the description of novel biodiversity, and understanding the limitations of biological systems; in the development of novel bioreactors and understanding the parameters that effect their performance; and in the development of a conceptual understanding of an extended higher-order kinetic model for substrate utilisation in environmental batch samples, for example. The development of molecular diagnostic tools is underpinned by the development of novel techniques to quantify functional gene presence and expression in environmental samples. It also depends on the identification of critical relationships between biological activity (functional gene expression) and rates of biogeochemical transformations in environmental systems.

Clients and Collaborative Links

• Curtin University, Centre for Petroleum and Environmental Organic Geochemistry (PEOG)
• Australian Mineral Industry Research Association (AMIRA)
• Rio Tinto
• Anglo American plc
• Phelps Dodge Corporation
• Placer Dome Group
• Kumba Resources
• BHP Billiton
• WMC Resources Ltd
• Straits Resources Limited
• Ivanhoe Mines
• Alcoa Inc.
• Water Corporation of WA
• growers, agricultural/rural industries (e.g. Grains Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), Land & Water Australia)
• fertiliser industry
• Food processing/manufacturing industries
• International organistions that provide aid to developing countries for the safe and increased production of food

Project-specific Information

• Thermophilic heap bioleaching for copper extraction
• Biogeochemistry of fertiliser and nutrients
• Technology for the treatment of wastes for the prevention of contamination
• Biological treatment of potable water, and production of biologically stable water
• Environmental molecular diagnostics for biological function