Agromining for nickel: a complete chain that optimizes ecosystem services rendered by ultramafic landscapes
Résumé
Serpentine (i.e. ultramafic) outcrops in Europe cover more than 10,000 km2 and have a low-fertility and low-productivity, making them unattractive for traditional agriculture. Many of these areas are slowly abandoned
by local farmers, with rural exodus and landscape closure. However, ultramafic landscapes have the potential to provide multiple ecosystem services and can contribute to Europe’s goals towards insuring food security, production of renewable raw materials and renewable energy. Phytomining (Agromining) cultivates plants that are able to accumulate trace metals from metal-rich soils and transport them to the shoots (>1%), which can then be harvested as a bio-ore to recover highly valuable metals, e.g. nickel (Ni). Nickel agromining can offer an eco-efficient alternative to classical pyro- or hydrometallurgical processes, as well as providing biomass for local energy production.
Phytomining agroecosystems can lead to better soil resource efficiency and can offer a fully integrated, new agromining agriculture that could cover thousands of km2 in Europe and benefit local communities with a sustainable rural development.
Fichier principal
2015_SGA_Echevarria et al._{09934B8D-3247-486B-8994-CF0D869AEB00}.pdf (1.27 Mo)
Télécharger le fichier
| Origine | Accord explicite pour ce dépôt |
|---|
Loading...