Sustainable biotechnology
Recovering critical metals from waste using engineered bacteria
The Challenge
Critical metals. Difficult waste streams.
Precious metals are essential across industries including automotive, electronics, renewables and pharmaceuticals.
Existing recovery processes produce complex mixed metal waste streams that contain dilute amounts of precious metals. Recovering these remaining metals and treating the leftover wastewater is costly and energy intensive.
Inviam’s Solution
We are developing a modular, drop-in system compatible with existing recycling infrastructure.
The Biorecovery Module houses engineered bacteria that recover valuable metals from dilute waste streams.
- Recover more value
- Reduce hazardous waste burden
- Drop-in technology
- Designed for existing recycling infrastructure
Why bacterial metal recovery?
By adding biological recovery to existing processes, Inviam aims to reduce costs, improve ESG performance and lower hazardous waste treatment.
Ambient conditions, no harsh chemicals
Selectivity & bioengineering
Dilute solutions
Sustainable inputs
Valuable nanomaterials
Scaleable
Developed on real industrial wastestreams.
Inviam has carried out partner pilot studies from PGM refining liquid waste streams and e-waste recycling leachates.
The Inviam team want to work with industrial partners to develop our sustainable biotechnology towards industrial-scale operation.
The Inviam Biometals Team
Our team of University of Manchester researchers brings deep expertise in bioprocessing and metal recovery from complex environmental systems and real industrial effluents from across the periodic table.
Prof Jonathan Lloyd
Dr Chris Egan-Morriss
Dr Natalie Byrd
Patrick King
Patrick Harvey
Do you produce, handle or recycle precious metal waste streams?
Get in touch, using the form below.