Recuperación eficaz de uranio utilizando microalgas genéticamente mejoradas

  1. Victoria López-Rodas
  2. Estefania Conde
  3. Camino García
Revista:
Nuclear España: Revista de la Sociedad Nuclear española

ISSN: 1137-2885

Año de publicación: 2015

Número: 362

Páginas: 41-47

Tipo: Artículo

Otras publicaciones en: Nuclear España: Revista de la Sociedad Nuclear española

Resumen

We propose an alternative process for the efficient recovery of dissolved uranium based on genetically improved microalgae. We isolated Chlamydomonas cf. fonticola from a pond extremely contaminated by uranium (≈ 25 ppm) from ENUSA U-mine, Saelices (Salamanca, Spain). After a process of genetic improvement we obtained a strain capable to recover 115 mg of U per g of dry weight, by mean of bio-adsorption on the cell wall (mostly) and intra-cytoplasm bioaccumulation. Such a genetically improved microalgae resist extremes of acidity and pollution, but even its dead biomass is still able to recover a large amount of uranium.