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Discipline: Chemistry and Chemical Sciences
Subcategory: Environmental Engineering
Shanece Esdaille - University of the Virgin Islands
We are now living in an innovative technological world. With the vast amount of technological advances as well as the upgrades seen in electronic devices, the demand for materials needed to build these technologies are also increasing. The overall aim of this research seeks to develop a method for the extraction/ recovery of lithium and cobalt metals from spent lithium-ion batteries via fungal bioleaching. The objective of my research that contributed to the overall aim was to analyze organic acids that would be produced by fungi using High Performance Liquid Chromatography. Citric acid, Gluconic acid, Oxalic acid, (L)-Malic acid and Tartaric acid were the five target acids used for analysis. The HPLC was calibrated to quantify and separate organic acid mixtures which will be used to help understand the organic acid production by fungi. Each acid was calibrated and R² values were calculated. Oxalic acid had an R² value of 0.9986, Gluconic acid; 0.9851, Tartaric acid; 0.9975, (L)-Malic acid; 0.9994, and Citric acid 0.9984. Organic acid mixtures were used in the calibration of HPLC to prepare for an analysis of organic acid mixtures produced by fungi. This Undergraduate Research program was funded by the National Science Foundation.
Funder Acknowledgement(s): National Science Foundation
Faculty Advisor: Wayne Archibald,
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