Gold Bio-recovery from Electronic Waste Using Aspergillus niger: A Case Study

Introduction: Recycling electronic waste with microorganisms is more sustainable than conventional methodologies. The usage of fungi like Aspergillus niger is comparatively sustainable for metal recovery. Case Presentation: Aspergillus niger can be utilized for the bio-recovery of gold from electronic wastes. The study compared the efficacies of Aspergillus niger strain MXPE6 against a collection of its strains. Bioleaching was performed on printed circuit boards (PCBs) of mobile phones. The fungal consortium of strains containing MXPE6 and MX7 was found to be comparatively advantageous. Analysis and Discussion: Aspergillus niger is highly effective at bioleaching gold. Various parameters related to fungal growth were different in the presence of PCBs. However, PCB does not interfere with fungal growth. Conclusion: Using filamentous fungi has the potential to be efficient for metal recycling.