锌的生物浸出技术现状及研究进展

锌是现代工业所必需的有色金属，属于很重要的战略资源，其在世界所有金属产量中排名第四，仅次于铁、铝和铜。随着低品位难处理锌资源的种类和产量的不断增加，以及湿法冶金技术的不断发展，锌的生物浸出技术得到了研究人员的广泛关注，并展示出了良好的潜在应用前景。本文首先较为详细的介绍了含锌资源的矿物特征，并对其生物可浸性进行了分析。其次，对目前锌的生物浸出体系，所用浸矿菌种，浸出过程所涉及的电化学、热力学、动力学以及浸出机理进行了归纳总结；接着，对锌的生物浸出技术现状和工艺新进展进行了阐述。最后，展望了锌的生物浸出工艺的发展趋势及后续的研究热点。研究表明高效浸锌菌种的选育驯化、与之相匹配的工艺及装备研发，是锌的生物浸出当今研究热点及未来发展方向。 

Technology status and research progress of zinc bioleaching

Zinc is a nonferrous metal necessary for modern industry and an important strategic resource. It ranks fourth among all metals in terms of world production after iron, aluminum, and copper. Zinc sulfide ore is the most important zinc-producing mineral in the world, followed by associated zinc oxide ore and zinc-containing secondary resources. China is rich in zinc resources. Most of China’s lead–zinc and copper–zinc deposits are mainly lead–zinc integrated deposits, lead–zinc sulfide deposits, and other associated components. These types of mineral resources lead to wastage of resources in the development and utilization processes and affect the subsequent smelting process, which places considerable pressure on the production efficiency and ecological environment. The current mining and metallurgical industry vigorously promotes industrial development and has shifted in the favor of recycling, low-carbon, and green technologies. The biological leaching technology, as a green and low-carbon wet metallurgy technology, meets the current environmental protection policy requirements. This technology uses microorganisms and their metabolites to soak valuable metals in ores and has many advantages such as simple process, environmental protection, and capability to process low-grade ores. With the development of hydrometallurgical technology, the biological leaching technology of zinc from various types of low-grade zinc resources has attracted researchers’ attention and shown considerable application potential. First, this study introduced the mineral characteristics of zinc resources and analyzed their bioleachability. Then, the bioleaching process of zinc was summarized, and the leaching bacteria, electrochemistry, thermodynamics, kinetics, and leaching mechanism were systemically introduced. Furthermore, the current situation and/or progress of zinc bioleaching technology were generalized. Finally, the development trend of zinc bioleaching process and future research hotspots were considered. This study shows that the breeding of highly efficient bioleaching bacteria and the corresponding technology and equipment inventions are the current research hotspots and can also be the development directions for zinc bioleaching in the future. This will help ensure rapid and effective development of the zinc bioleaching technology.