Geomicrobiology And Biogeochemistry Of Precious Metals

Precious metals continue to have economic and sociocultural importance, as their usage evolves and diversifies over time. Today, the industrial application of precious metals is increasing with the development of scientific and technological innovations. Especially, the biological cycling of these metals is receiving more and more attention, as the microbiota may be key to a range of issues regarding exploration, ore-processing and metallurgy, and the processing of electron waste. In this volume, we focus on enhancing the fundamental understanding of the biological processes that drive noble metal cycling and examine how this knowledge may be turned into biotechnolical applications.

Precious metals continue to have economic and sociocultural importance, as their usage evolves and diversifies over time. Today, the industrial application of precious metals is increasing with the development of scientific and technological innovations. Especially, the biological cycling of these metals is receiving more and more attention, as the microbiota may be key to a range of issues regarding exploration, ore-processing and metallurgy, and the processing of electron waste. In this volume, we focus on enhancing the fundamental understanding of the biological processes that drive noble metal cycling and examine how this knowledge may be turned into biotechnolical applications.

Metal Ions in Life Sciences links coordination chemistry and biochemistry in their widest sense and thus increases our understanding of the relationship between the chemistry of metals and life processes; in fact, it is an old wisdom that metals are indispensable for life. The series reflects the interdisciplinary nature of Biological Inorganic Chemistry and coordinates the efforts of scientists in numerous interconnecting research fields.

Over the past 4 billion years, microorganisms have contributed to shaping the earth and making it more habitable for higher forms of life. They are remarkable in their metabolic diversity and their ability to harvest energy from oxidation and reduction reactions. Research on these microbiological processes has led to the newly evolving fields of geomicrobiology and biogeochemistry, linking the geosphere and the biosphere. This volume of the Soil Biology series provides an overview of the biogeochemical processes and the microorganisms involved, with an emphasis on the industrial applications. Topics treated include aspects such as bioremediation of contaminated environments, biomining, biotechnological applications of extremophiles, subsurface petroleum microbiology, enhanced oil recovery using microbes and their products, metal extraction from soil, soil elemental cycling and plant nutrition.

Encyclopedia of Geology, Second Edition presents in six volumes state-of-the-art reviews on the various aspects of geologic research, all of which have moved on considerably since the writing of the first edition. New areas of discussion include extinctions, origins of life, plate tectonics and its influence on faunal provinces, new types of mineral and hydrocarbon deposits, new methods of dating rocks, and geological processes. Users will find this to be a fundamental resource for teachers and students of geology, as well as researchers and non-geology professionals seeking up-to-date reviews of geologic research. Provides a comprehensive and accessible one-stop shop for information on the subject of geology, explaining methodologies and technical jargon used in the field Highlights connections between geology and other physical and biological sciences, tackling research problems that span multiple fields Fills a critical gap of information in a field that has seen significant progress in past years Presents an ideal reference for a wide range of scientists in earth and environmental areas of study

Noble Metals and Biological Systems examines the relationship between noble metals (gold, silver, and platinum group metals) and biological systems. The book is divided into three parts. Part 1 is concerned with the analytical chemistry of noble metals and includes a description of the latest methods of analysis. Part 2 describes such topics as ecology and environmental science of noble metals as they pertain to biogeochemical exploration, noble metals in hair, the environmental geochemistry of palladium, microorganisms and noble metals, animals and noble metals, and a general survey of noble metals in the environment. Coverage is comprehensive and includes information regarding the use of dogs and termites as field assistants in mineral prospecting, as well as the fascinating story of the "gold bug", a microorganism that plates itself with gold. Part 3 is devoted entirely to noble metals in the treatment of disease and includes chapters describing the use of osmium and gold for arthritis treatment, silver as a bactericide, and platinum and ruthenium as anticancer agents. Noble Metals and Biological Systems will provide fascinating reading for applied geochemists, environmentalists, public health specialists, ecologists, microbiologists, clinical biochemists, oncologists, and specialists in rheumatic diseases.

This Special Issue covers a broad range of topics related to the mineralogy of noble metals (Au, Ag, Pt, Pd, Rh, and Ru) and the occurrence, formation, and distribution of these elements in natural ore-forming systems. This collection of eleven research articles discusses various problems related to these topics. I hope this Special Issue will contribute to a better understanding of the genesis of gold, silver, and other noble metal deposits as well as the behavior of these elements in endogenic and supergene environments, and suggest ways forward to solving the problem of their full extraction from ores.