Adaptation of Archaebacterial isolates of New Thermophilic Sulfolobus solfataricus and Acidianus ambivalens to the High Redox Potential for Molybdenum Extraction

Molybdenum metal with atomic number 42 belongs to the sixth group of the periodic table of elements. This element has many usages in various industries. The most important molybdenum mineral is molybdenite (MoS2 ). Different leaching methods are used for the extraction of molybdenum. One of the methods is bioleaching, which requires a high potential for extraction of molybdenum, in addition to applying other special leaching conditions. In this study, in order to use a bioleaching method for extraction of molybdenum from its mineral, the native thermophilic archaebacteria of Sulfolobus solfataricus and Acidianus ambivalens were isolated from the Narigan mine and registered on the NCBI site, also they were gradually adapted for resistance against to the high potential. The result of the adaptation was positive and archaebacteria were able to resist potentials higher than 1000 mV and had a good growth and proliferation rate. In the following, these archaebacteria have been used for the bioleaching of the Narigan ore for the extraction of molybdenum. Because molybdenum recovery has a strong dependency on the redox potential, recovery was increased to 80%. By increasing the potential from 400 mV to 1000 mV. While the molybdenum recovery was 43% by non-adapted bacteria against high potential.