Galdieria is an extremophilic alga that inhabits hot springs, it has high growth rates and is promising for various applications such as precious metal recovery, food colourants and environmental remediation.
We have the methodologies for cultivation and the ways to maximise the metal adsorption ability of the microalga called Galdieria.
Our culture facility which is close to our main laboratory has capacity to produce 200 kg dry weight of Galdieria a month at present and this is immediately available.
Our first Galdieria product is a precious metal adsorbent suitable for metal recycling and gold recovery.mining.
Our precious metal adsorbent from Galdieria cells enables faster solid-liquid separation so can be safely and easily handled at ‘urban mine’ recycling sites.
Our metal adsorbent can recover precious metals from dilute metal solutions of less than 10 ppm even if the solution contains various base metals; isolating palladium (Pd) from a solution containing high concentrations of tin (Sn), a condition difficult for the conventional precious metal adsorbents, is possible.
In addition, our adsorbent is applicable for a wide range of pH from neutral to strongly acidic; precious metals can be recovered from highly concentrated aqua regia that is often used in the recycling processes.
Employing industrial exhaust gas as sources of CO2 and heat for autotrophic cultivation of Galdieria is a promising option to achieve “cost reduction” and “content enrichment” at the same time.
We have succeeded in mass cultivation of Gadieria through the heterotrophic batch culture system by adding a carbon source to the growth medium.
To make our adsorbent carbon neutral, the cultivation method needs to be switched to a highly efficient photosynthetic method. The development of the techniques to utilise industrial exhaust gases that are wasted and natural resources such as hot spring water is currently underway. We are also seeking the potential application of cell contents which do not contribute to metal adsorption to further reduce CO2 emission.
We are developing a complete kit for ASGMs which includes a metal adsorbent and gold leaching dressing (chemicals that leach gold from ore).
This formula saves operators from having to use toxic substances such as mercury and cyanide when leaching gold from ores. Our system works by adding our precious metal adsorbent to the ore leachate to recover gold.
This system can secure the health of miners and also generate better incomesIt also is environmental bennin and safe for the ecosystem. It is a feasible and effective alternative for those forced to use mercury and cyanides which create long-term negative effects on health and the environment Our precious metal adsorbent is bio-material that can easily be burned to recover gold using a simple burner and burning does not emit any toxic gases. After burning the bio-degradable adsorbent residue can be made into pellets for power generation.
