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ePaper created 2013-04-04, 13:08:38 | version 1.25.5
6 Primary Research Fields “Extracting, processing, refining, and recycling. We conduct research at the long end of the value chain.” Developing new resource technologies means breaking new ground in exploration, extraction, processing, refining, and recycling. The Helmholtz Institute Freiberg focuses its research competence primarily on the last steps of this chain. How can high tech metals, which often only exist in low concentrations and which are finely dispersed, be separated in an econom ically viable manner from the natural ores they are bound in? What metal- lurgical processes are needed to subsequently refine the extracted mate- rials at an industrial scale? How can the coveted materials be removed efficiently from old energy saving lamps, monitors, or even street dust? How can these materials be recovered from waste and wastewater which accumulate during manufacturing processes? And, finally: How can we ensure that some raw materials only flow into specific products in either small quantities or not at all? Bacteria could be used in the future to solve the problems that occur during the processing of certain ores. The geobiotechnology lab at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf. The biosorption principle: Bacterial envelope proteins selectively bind the metals found in minerals. Water Solute metal ions Selective bonding