Investigating selenium-sulfur interactions for selenium recovery from wastewater

To increase its circularity, selenium, should be recovered from wastewater. Selenium and sulfur are very similar elements. They can both be highly toxic in the wrong form or concentration, but are necessary in our diets. Because they are so similar they can be interchangeable in various chemical compounds. This leads to interesting interactions between the two elements, which can take place in biological removal processes from wastewater. We will investigate how selenium, with the help of bacteria, interacts with sulfur to form minerals and even crystals. We aim for the formation of large selenium crystals making selenium easier to recover.