Grinding aid compositions and methods of use

Abstract

The present invention provides safe, environmentally friendly compositions and efficient methods for abrasive materials. More specifically, the present invention provides compositions for grinding microorganisms derived, which can be used to increase the grinding rate and / or the amount of grinding particles.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63 / 356,553, filed on June 29, 2022, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Background Art

[0003] Grinding aids are commonly used to efficiently remove earth deposits associated with various mining and quarrying practices. During the mining process, grinding aids may be added to increase the efficiency of grinding the mined ore or mineral by reducing the energy required to create new surface during the grinding process.

[0004] Depending on the type of grinding apparatus used (including dry or wet grinding) and the type of grinder, different chemicals are used to aid in the process.

[0005] In dry grinding systems, organic chemicals such as alcohols, glycols, phenols, ketones, acids and hydrocarbons are used. These chemicals can change the specific surface energy and agglomeration tendency of the ores and minerals being ground, as well as the transfer of kinetic energy from the grinding media to the minerals.

[0006] The main commodities that use grinding aids are cement and limestone. For low-value commodity cement, grinding accounts for a major portion of the production cost. In metallic minerals and most other hard industrial minerals, grinding is a relatively low-cost item. Therefore, savings are adopted in other more expensive steps of the process.

[0007] Wet grinding aids are used in the ball milling process of mineral ores. This process is increasingly used to better separate particles containing the desired end product and save chemicals used in subsequent process steps. Nickel, cobalt, iron ore and bauxite are minerals that use wet grinding aids in their production.

[0008] Currently, the use of grinding aids is mainly limited to large-tonnage grinding methods, including tube mills, rod mills, ball mills, and autogenous and semi-autogenous grinding. In addition, grinding aids are usually made from specialty chemicals derived from petrochemicals.

[0009] Therefore, there is a need for new and improved grinding aid compositions and methods. Summary of the invention

[0010] The present invention generally relates to grinding aid compositions and methods of using these compositions. More specifically, the present invention provides environmentally friendly grinding aid compositions and methods for grinding (e.g., in the processing of mined ores and minerals, etc.). In certain embodiments, existing methods can be combined with the compositions and methods of the present invention.

[0011] Advantageously, the compositions and methods of the present invention improve the efficiency of grinding and can reduce the chemical use (including the use of chemical surfactants) required for grinding. Therefore, the present invention can be used to reduce the time required for mining or producing various products (including Portland cement, etc.).

[0012] In certain embodiments, the invention provides compositions comprising components from microorganisms. In certain embodiments, the compositions comprise microbial biosurfactants. In certain embodiments, the compositions comprise one or more biosurfactants, and optionally other compounds, such as water, chemical surfactants, acrylic polymer dispersants, rheology modifiers, polymers, alcohols, glycols, phenols, lignin sulfates, ketones, acids, hydrocarbons, fatty acids, soaps, or any combination thereof.

[0013] In certain embodiments, the biosurfactant of the composition is used in a crude form. In addition to the biosurfactant, the crude form may also include fermentation broth of the microorganisms that cultured the biosurfactant, residual microbial cytoplasm or active or inactive microbial cells, residual nutrients and / or other microbial growth byproducts.

[0014] In some embodiments, the biosurfactant is used after extraction and optional purification from the fermentation broth.

[0015] The biosurfactant according to the present invention may be a glycolipid (such as sophorolipids, rhamnolipids, cellobiose lipids, mannoerythritol lipids and trehalose lipids), a lipopeptide (such as surfactin, iturin, fengycin, actin and lichenin), a flavonoid, a phospholipid (such as cardiolipin), a fatty acid ester compound, a fatty acid ether compound, and / or a high molecular weight polymer (such as lipoprotein, lipopolysaccharide-protein complex and polysaccharide-protein-fatty acid complex).

[0016] In certain specific embodiments, the biosurfactant is a sophorolipid (SLP), including linear SLP, lactone SLP, acetylated SLP, deacetylated SLP, salt-type SLP, esterified SLP derivatives, amino acid-SLP conjugates, and other SLP derivatives or isomers present in nature and / or synthetically produced. In a preferred embodiment, the SLP is a linear SLP or a derivatized linear SLP.

[0017] In certain embodiments, the present invention provides a method for grinding, wherein the method comprises the step of contacting a grinding aid composition according to the present invention with a mineral, ore, element or other material.

[0018] In some embodiments, the method improves the uniformity of the abrasive particles, or increases the grinding rate and / or the amount of abrasive particles over different time periods. In certain embodiments, the diameter of the resulting abrasive particles can be less than about 10 cm, about 1 cm, about 1 mm, about 500 μm, about 100 μm, about 10 μm, about 1 μm, about 100 nm, about 10 nm, or about 1 nm.

[0019] In some embodiments, the method comprises contacting a grinding aid composition comprising a biosurfactant and optionally other components such as water, chemical surfactants, acrylic polymer dispersants, rheology modifiers, polymers, alcohols, glycols, phenols, lignin sulfates, ketones, acids, hydrocarbons, fatty acids, fatty acid salts, etc., with a mineral, ore, element or other material. The mineral, ore, element or other material may be liquid or solid. In certain embodiments, the grinding aid composition may be applied to the mineral, ore, element or other material for a period of time and / or until different volumes of the composition are applied. This step may be repeated as many times as desired to achieve a desired amount of abrasive particles or a grinding rate for the mineral, ore, element or other material.

[0020] In certain embodiments, the grinding aid composition according to the present invention is effective because it reduces the specific surface energy of the particles required to create new surfaces in a liquid or solid containing a mineral, ore, element or other material. For example, in some embodiments, the sophorolipid will neutralize the particles or weaken the crystal interface.

[0021] In certain embodiments, the methods of the present invention result in at least a 25% increase in the grinding rate of the solid after a single treatment, preferably at least a 50% increase. In certain embodiments, the mineral, ore, element or other material may be treated multiple times to further increase the amount of abrasive particles or the grinding rate.

[0022] Advantageously, in certain embodiments, the grinding aid composition according to the present invention can effectively and efficiently produce abrasive particles. In addition, the method of the present invention does not require complex equipment or high energy consumption, and the production of the composition can be carried out on site (e.g., in a mine or industrial production facility). DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] The present invention generally relates to the grinding of particles. More specifically, the present invention provides environmentally friendly compositions and methods for grinding solids or solid particles contained in liquids from mined ores, elements, minerals or other materials. Thus, the present invention can be used to increase the efficiency and efficacy of grinding methods. Advantageously, the compositions and methods of the present invention allow the use of safe, environmentally friendly compositions to increase the grinding rate of particles.

[0024] Selected Definitions

[0025] As used herein, "administering" a composition or product means contacting it with a target or site so that the composition or product has an effect on the target or site. The effect may be caused by the growth of microorganisms and / or the action of biosurfactants or other byproducts of microbial growth, etc.

[0026] As used herein, "biofilm" is a complex collection of microorganisms (e.g., bacteria, yeast, or fungi) in which cells adhere to each other and / or to a surface via an extracellular matrix. Cells in a biofilm are physiologically distinct from planktonic cells of the same organism, which are single cells that can float or swim in a liquid medium.

[0027] As used herein, an "isolated" or "purified" nucleic acid molecule, polynucleotide, polypeptide, protein or small molecule, such as an organic compound described below, is substantially free of other compounds associated with nature (e.g., cellular material). A purified or isolated polynucleotide (ribonucleic acid (RNA) or deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)) is free of flanking genes or sequences in its naturally occurring state. A purified or isolated polypeptide is free of amino acids or sequences that flank it in its naturally occurring state. An isolated microbial strain refers to a strain that has been removed from its naturally occurring environment. Thus, an isolated strain may exist as a biologically pure culture or as a spore (or other form of strain) associated with a vector.

[0028] In certain embodiments, the purified compound is at least 60% by weight of the compound of interest. Preferably, the preparation is at least 75% by weight of the compound of interest, more preferably at least 90%, and most preferably at least 98%. For example, the purified compound is at least 80%, 85%, 90%, 91%, 92%, 93%, 94%, 95%, 98%, 99% or 100% (w / w) by weight of the desired compound. Purity is measured by any appropriate standard method such as column chromatography, thin layer chromatography or high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analytical methods.

[0029] "Metabolite" refers to any substance produced by metabolism or a substance necessary to participate in a specific metabolic process. A metabolite can be an organic compound that is a starting material, intermediate, or end product of metabolism. Examples of metabolites can include, but are not limited to, enzymes, acids, solvents, alcohols, proteins, vitamins, minerals, trace elements, amino acids, biopolymers, and biosurfactants.

[0030] The ranges provided herein are understood to be shorthand expressions of all numerical values ​​within the range. For example, a range of 1 to 20 may be understood to include any number, combination of numbers, or subranges in the group consisting of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20, as well as all decimal values ​​between the above integers, such as 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, and 1.9. With regard to subranges, "nested subranges" extending from either end of the range are particularly contemplated. For example, a nested subrange of an exemplary range of 1 to 50 may include 1 to 10, 1 to 20, 1 to 30, and 1 to 40 in one direction, or 50 to 40, 50 to 30, 50 to 20, and 50 to 10 in another direction.

[0031] As used herein, "decrease" or "lower" refers to a negative change and "increase" refers to a positive change, wherein the negative change or the positive change is at least 0.001%, 0.01%, 0.1%, 0.5%, 1%, 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%, 35%, 40%, 45%, 50%, 55%, 60%, 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95% or 100%.

[0032] As used herein, "surfactant" refers to a compound that reduces the surface tension (or interfacial tension) between two liquids or between a liquid and a solid. Surfactants are used as detergents, wetting agents, emulsifiers, foaming agents and / or dispersants, etc. "Biosurfactants" are surface-active substances produced by living cells and / or using natural extraction substrates.

[0033] Biosurfactants are a group of structurally diverse surface-active substances that consist of two parts: a polar (hydrophilic) portion and a nonpolar (hydrophobic) group. Due to their amphiphilic structure, biosurfactants can increase the surface area of ​​hydrophobic insoluble substances, improve the water bioavailability of these substances, and change the properties of bacterial cell surfaces, etc. Biosurfactants can also reduce the interfacial tension between water and oil, thereby reducing the hydrostatic pressure required to move the entrained liquid to overcome the capillary effect. Biosurfactants accumulate at the interface, thereby reducing the interfacial tension and causing the formation of agglomerated micellar structures in the solution. The formation of micelles provides a physical mechanism for moving oil in the aqueous phase, etc.

[0034] The ability of biosurfactants to reduce surface tension also allows them to be used as antibacterial, antifungal and hemolytic agents to control harmful organisms and / or microbial growth, among other things.

[0035] Typically, the hydrophilic group of a biosurfactant is a sugar (e.g., a monosaccharide, disaccharide, or polysaccharide) or a peptide, while the hydrophobic group is usually a fatty acid. Thus, there are countless variations of biosurfactant molecules, depending on factors such as the type of sugar, the number of sugars, the size of the peptide, the amino acids contained in the peptide, the length of the fatty acid, the degree of saturation of the fatty acid, additional acetylation, additional functional groups, esterification, polarity, and the charge of the molecule.

[0036] These changes have resulted in the formation of a group of molecules including a variety of categories, including, for example, glycolipids (such as sophorolipids, rhamnolipids, cellobiose lipids, mannoerythritol lipids and trehalose lipids, etc.), lipopeptides (such as surfactin, iturin, fengycin, sedative and / or lichenin, etc.), flavonoids, phospholipids (such as cardiolipin), fatty acid ester compounds and high molecular weight polymers (such as lipoproteins, lipopolysaccharide-protein complexes and polysaccharide-protein-fatty acid complexes, etc.). Each biosurfactant in each category may further include subtypes with further modified structures.

[0037] Like chemical surfactants, each biosurfactant molecule has an HLB value that is determined by its structure; however, unlike the production of chemical surfactants, which produces a single molecule with a single HLB value or range, a biosurfactant production cycle typically produces a mixture of biosurfactant molecules (e.g., subtypes and their isomers).

[0038] The phrases "biosurfactant" and "biosurfactant molecule" include all forms, analogs, homologs, isomers and natural and / or artificial modifications of any biosurfactant class (e.g., glycolipids) and / or its subtypes (e.g., sophorolipids).

[0039] As used herein, the term "sophorolipid", "sophorolipid molecule", "SLP" or "SLP molecule" includes all forms of SLP molecules and isomers thereof, including, for example, acidic (straight chain) SLP (ASL) and lactone SLP (LSL). The term "sophorolipid", "sophorolipid molecule", "SLP" or "SLP molecule" further includes monoacetylated SLP, diacetylated SLP, esterified SLP, SLP with different hydrophobic chain lengths, cationic and / or anionic SLPs linked to fatty acid-amino acid complexes, esterified SLP, SLP metal complexes, SLP salt derivatives (e.g., sodium salts of straight chain SLPs) and other SLPs (including those described and / or not described in the present disclosure).

[0040] In a preferred embodiment, the SLP molecule according to the present invention is represented by the general formula (1) and / or the general formula (2), and comprises fatty acids with different chain lengths (R 3) and in some cases, in R 1 and / or R 2 Acetylation or protonation occurs at the site.

[0041]

[0042] In the general formula (1) or (2), R 0 It can be a hydrogen atom or a methyl group. 1 and R 2 are each independently a hydrogen atom or an acetyl group. 3 It is a saturated aliphatic hydrocarbon chain, or an unsaturated aliphatic hydrocarbon chain having at least one double bond, and may have one or more substituents.

[0043] Examples of the substituent include a halogen atom, a hydroxyl group, a lower (C1-C6) alkyl group, a halogenated lower (C1-C6) alkyl group, a hydroxy lower (C1-C6) alkyl group, a halogenated lower (C1-C6) alkoxy group, and the like. 3 Typically, it may have 11 to 20 carbon atoms. In certain embodiments of the present invention, R 3 It has 18 carbon atoms.

[0044] SLP is usually produced by yeast, such as Starmerella spp. yeasts and / or Candida, such as Starmerella (Candida) bombicola, Candida apicola, Candida batista, Candida floricola, Candida riodocensis, Candida stellate and / or Candida kuoi, etc. SLP has environmental compatibility, high biodegradability, low toxicity, high selectivity and specific activity under a wide range of temperature, pH and salinity conditions. In addition, in some embodiments, SLP has an advantage due to its smaller micelle size, which helps to promote the movement of micelles and compounds enclosed therein through nanoscale pores and spaces. In certain embodiments, the micelle size of the SLP is less than 100 nm, less than 50 nm, less than 20 nm, less than 15 nm, less than 10 nm, or less than 5 nm.

[0045] As used herein, "grinding" refers to a process that includes grinding or crushing particles by processes such as crushing, grinding, cutting, vibration or other processes to reduce the average particle size and increase the surface area of ​​the material per unit mass. The method for grinding particles of the present invention includes the use of a rotating ball mill or a rotary kiln in which the particles are crushed. These methods may also involve a grinder that crushes the particles using rollers (rotating cylinders). For example, rollers can be used in pairs, and the particles are passed and crushed through a clamping configuration. Rollers can also be used on a horizontal surface such as a circular workbench, and the particle layer will be crushed when the rollers rotate on the workbench surface.

[0046] As used herein, "surface energy" or "specific surface energy" refers to a quantification of the extent to which intermolecular bonds are broken to create a surface, the excess energy of a material surface relative to its bulk, or the work required to cut a large sample to create two surfaces. Surface energy can be measured by contact goniometers, etc.

[0047] As used herein, a "grain boundary" is an interface between two grains or crystallites; a grain boundary represents a defect in a crystal structure.

[0048] As used herein, "ore beneficiation" refers to the process of removing waste material from products of interest (eg, elements, compounds, minerals).

[0049] As used herein, "ore" refers to a naturally occurring solid material from which valuable substances, minerals and / or metals can be extracted. Ores are typically mined from a deposit consisting of ore minerals containing valuable substances. "Gangue" minerals refer to minerals present in a deposit but not containing valuable substances. Examples of deposits include hydrothermal deposits, magmatic deposits, laterite deposits, volcanogenic deposits, metamorphic alteration deposits, carbonate alkaline igneous rock-related deposits, placer deposits, residual ore deposits, sedimentary deposits, sedimentary hydrothermal deposits, and crater-related deposits. However, ores as defined herein may also include concentrates or tailings, gold, and even other sources of metals or useful minerals, including but not limited to jewelry, electronic scrap, and other waste materials.

[0050] As used herein, the term "particles" includes mined ores, elements, compounds, minerals or other materials (e.g., gold, silver, ore, lead-zinc, tungsten, zinc, coal, calcite, limestone, aragonite, sea shells, marl, limonite, clay, shale, sand, alumina, iron garnet, zircon, quartz and bauxite), as well as intermediate products produced during the beneficiation or manufacturing process, including hydrated cement and cement clinker, which is usually ground with gypsum and calcium sulfate to produce hydrated cement, etc. The present invention not only relates to grinding clinker to produce cement and grinding cement particles into finer particles, but also to grinding raw materials for producing cement clinker.

[0051] As used herein, "leaching" refers to the process of extracting metals from ores by aqueous solution, including ammonia leaching, alkaline leaching, acid leaching, cyanidation (i.e., cyanide leaching) or thiosulfate leaching, etc. As used herein, "cyanidation" refers to the process of converting gold in an ore into a water-soluble coordination complex using an aqueous cyanide solution (including sodium cyanide, potassium cyanide or calcium cyanide).

[0052] The transitional term "comprising," which is synonymous with "including" or "containing," is inclusive or open-ended and does not exclude additional, unrecited elements or method steps. In contrast, the transitional phrase "consisting of" excludes any element, step, or ingredient not specified in the claim. The transitional phrase "consisting essentially of" limits the scope of the claim to the specified materials or steps "and those that do not materially affect the basic, novel characteristic." Use of the term "comprising" refers to other embodiments consisting of "consisting of" or "consisting essentially of" the referenced components.

[0053] Unless otherwise specified or obvious from the context, the term "or" as used herein should be understood to be inclusive. Unless otherwise specified or obvious from the context, as used herein, the terms "a", "and" and "the" are understood to be singular or plural.

[0054] Unless otherwise specified or apparent from the context, as used herein, the term "about" is to be understood as being within the normal tolerance range in the art, such as within 2 standard deviations of the mean. "About" may be understood as being within 10%, 9%, 8%, 7%, 6%, 5%, 4%, 3%, 2%, 1%, 0.5%, 0.1%, 0.05%, or 0.01% of the specified value. Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, all numerical values ​​provided herein are modified by the term "about".

[0055] The recitation of a list of chemical groups in any definition of a variable herein includes definitions of the variable as any single group or combination of the listed groups. The recitation of an embodiment for a variable or aspect herein includes the embodiment as any single embodiment or in combination with any other embodiment or portion thereof.

[0056] All references cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

[0057] Grinding aid composition

[0058] In certain embodiments, the invention provides compositions comprising components from microorganisms. In certain embodiments, the compositions comprise microbial biosurfactants. In certain embodiments, the compositions comprise one or more biosurfactants, and optionally other compounds, such as water, chemical surfactants, acrylic polymer dispersants, rheology modifiers, polymers, alcohols, glycols, phenols, lignin sulfates, ketones, acids, hydrocarbons, fatty acids, soaps, or any combination thereof.

[0059] In certain embodiments, the chemical surfactant of the grinding aid composition is an anionic surfactant, a nonionic surfactant, a detergent, a wetting agent, an emulsifier, a foaming agent and / or a dispersant. In certain embodiments, the chemical surfactant includes such as triethanolamine (TEA), triisopropanolamine, propylene glycol, TEA esters and polyethylene glycol phenol ethers.

[0060] In certain embodiments, the polymer may comprise amines and their salts.

[0061] In certain embodiments, the grinding aid composition comprises a microbial-based product comprising a biosurfactant used in a crude form. In addition to the biosurfactant, the crude form may also comprise a fermentation broth of a microorganism that is cultured to produce the biosurfactant, residual microbial cytoplasm or active or inactive microbial cells, residual nutrients and / or other microbial growth byproducts. The product may be at least 1%, 5%, 10%, 25%, 50%, 75% or 100% of the fermentation broth by weight. The biomass in the product may be 0% to 100% (including all percentages between 0% and 100%) by weight.

[0062] In some embodiments, the biosurfactant is used after extraction and optional purification from the fermentation broth.

[0063] The biosurfactant according to the present invention may be a glycolipid (such as sophorolipids, rhamnolipids, cellobiose lipids, mannoerythritol lipids and trehalose lipids), a lipopeptide (such as surfactin, iturin, fengycin, actin and lichenin), a flavonoid, a phospholipid (such as cardiolipin), a fatty acid ester compound, a fatty acid ether compound, and / or a high molecular weight polymer (such as lipoprotein, lipopolysaccharide-protein complex and polysaccharide-protein-fatty acid complex).

[0064] In certain specific embodiments, the biosurfactant is a sophorolipid (SLP), including linear SLP, lactone SLP, acetylated SLP, deacetylated SLP, salt-type SLP derivatives, esterified SLP derivatives, amino acid-SLP conjugates, and other SLP derivatives or isomers present in nature and / or synthetically produced. In a preferred embodiment, the SLP is a linear SLP or a derivatized linear SLP. In certain embodiments, the composition of the present invention may comprise a lactone SLP and a linear SLP, wherein at least about 50%, about 55%, about 60%, about 65%, about 70%, about 75%, about 80%, about 85%, about 90% or about 95% of the SLP comprises a linear form, and the remainder comprises a lactone form.

[0065] In some embodiments, the biosurfactant may be included in the composition in a ratio of 0.01% to 99.9%, 0.1% to 90%, 0.5% to 80%, 0.75% to 70%, 1.0% to 50%, 1.5% to 25%, or 2.0% to 15% by weight relative to the total amount of the grinding aid composition.

[0066] In another embodiment, the purified biosurfactant may be added in combination with an acceptable carrier, as the biosurfactant may be present in a concentration of 0.001% to 50% (v / v), preferably 0.01% to 20% (v / v), more preferably 0.02% to 5% (v / v).

[0067] In some embodiments, the biosurfactant can be included in the composition at a concentration of 0.01 ppm to 100,000 ppm, 0.05 ppm to 10,000 ppm, 0.1 ppm to 1,000 ppm, 0.5 ppm to 750 ppm, 1.0 ppm to 500 ppm, 2.0 ppm to 250 ppm, or 3.0 ppm to 100 ppm, etc., relative to the amount of liquid being treated.

[0068] In certain embodiments, the chemical surfactant of the grinding aid composition is a detergent, a wetting agent, an emulsifier, a foaming agent and / or a dispersant. In some embodiments, the chemical surfactant can be included in the composition in a ratio of 0.01% to 99.9%, 0.1% to 90%, 0.5% to 80%, 0.75% to 70%, 1.0% to 50%, 1.5% to 25% or 2.0% to 15% by weight relative to the total amount of the grinding composition.

[0069] The grinding aid composition may further include other additives, such as carriers, other microbial based compositions, additional biosurfactants, enzymes, catalysts, solvents, salts, buffers, chelating agents, acids, emulsifiers, lubricants, solubility regulators, preservatives, stabilizers, UV inhibitors, viscosity regulators, preservatives, tracers, biocides and other microorganisms and other ingredients specific to the intended use.

[0070] In certain embodiments, the chelating agent may be, but is not limited to, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA), phosphonates, succinic acid (DMSA), diethylenetriaminepentaacetate (DTPA), N-acetylcysteine, N-hydroxyethylethylenediaminetriacetic acid (HEDTA), organic acids with multiple coordinating groups (e.g., erythromycin), STPP (sodium tripolyphosphate, Na5P3O 10 )), trisodium phosphate (TSP), water, carbohydrates, organic acids with more than one coordinating group (e.g., citric acid), lipids, steroids, amino acids or related compounds of the above (e.g., glutathione), peptides, phosphates, nucleotides, tetrapyrroles, ferroamines, ionophores, or phenols, sodium citrate, sodium gluconate, ethylenediamine disuccinic acid (EDDS), iminodisuccinic acid (IDS), L-glutamic acid diacetic acid (GLDA), GLDA Na4, methylglycine diacetic acid (MGDA), polyaspartic acid (PASA), hemoglobin, chlorophyll, lipophilic β-diketone and (14,16)-heteronedione, ethylenediamine-N,N'-diglutaric acid (EDDG), ethylenediamine-N,N'-dimalonic acid (EDDM), 3-hydroxy-2,2-iminodisuccinic acid (HIDS), 2-hydroxyethyliminodiacetic acid (HEIDA), pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid (PDA), trimethylglycine (TMG), titanium reagent, or any combination thereof.

[0071] Grinding method

[0072] In certain embodiments, the present invention provides a method for grinding particles from various sources including mines, quarries, and industrial sites, among others.

[0073] In certain embodiments, the present invention provides a method for grinding tailings of a mine. The method includes adding a composition of the present invention to the tailings. The particles can be ground more efficiently to produce more ground particles over a period of time, and the particles can achieve a more consistent uniform size. In a preferred embodiment, the tailings are low-grade tailings, wherein the tailings account for less than about 50%, about 40%, about 35%, about 30% or about 25% of the product of interest (e.g., the metal, mineral, compound or element mined), and the remainder comprises gangue.

[0074] In certain embodiments, the mining site may be a coal mine, an iron mine (such as taconite, etc.), a copper mine, a copper-nickel mine, a tin mine, a nickel mine, a gold mine, a silver mine, a molybdenum mine, an aluminum mine (e.g., a bauxite mine, a kyanite mine), a lead-zinc mine, a tungsten mine, a zircon mine (e.g., a zircon), or a zinc mine. The mine may be an underground mine, an open-pit mine, a placer mine, or an in-situ mine. In certain embodiments, the quarry may extract chalk, clay, cinder, coal, sand, gravel, coquina, diabase, gabbro, granite, gritstone, gypsum, limestone, marble, ore, phosphate rock, quartz, sandstone, slate, travertine, or any combination thereof.

[0075] In certain embodiments, the grinding aid compositions and methods can be used to grind concentrates or tailings, or even other sources of metals or valuable minerals, including but not limited to jewelry, electronic scrap, and other waste materials. For example, electronic scrap includes wires, phones, batteries, cell phones, computers, watches, appliances, televisions, lamps, toys, medical devices, light bulbs, solar panels, and monitors, etc.

[0076] In certain embodiments, microorganism-containing and / or biosurfactant-containing compositions can reduce the specific surface energy of ores and minerals, thereby reducing the energy required to create new surfaces during grinding. In such cases, the net reduction in required grinding energy may be due to weakening of the crystal interface caused by interparticle penetration of the surfactant, or it may be due to a net reduction in the cohesive forces (specific surface energy) that hold the particles together.

[0077] In certain embodiments, the composition can be used during the physical movement of rock. Examples of physical movement include grinding, tilling, mining, tunneling, mining, transporting, dumping, crushing, blasting, separating, pelletizing, cutting, casting, quarrying, dredging, fracturing, or any combination thereof.

[0078] The compositions can be applied to liquids or solids present within a range of temperatures and environments (e.g., waste ponds, storage tanks, conveyor belts, pipes, grinding balls, drums, kilns, silos, mills, rollers or drums).

[0079] The grinding aid composition may be applied to a liquid or solid and optionally mixed by adding, pouring or combining.

[0080] In certain embodiments, the time period that the grinding aid composition can be in contact with the liquid or solid is about 1 second to about 1 year, about 1 minute to about 1 year, about 1 minute to about 6 months, about 1 minute to about 1 month, about 1 minute to about 1 week, about 1 minute to about 48 hours, about 30 minutes to 40 hours, or preferably about 12 hours to 24 hours. In certain embodiments, the method includes applying the grinding aid composition in liquid or solid form to the particles containing liquid during the time period when the particles containing liquid are ground or until the size of the particles is reduced to an amount determined to be satisfactory, which can be easily determined by a person skilled in the art. In certain embodiments, the method includes applying the grinding aid composition in liquid or solid form to the solid during the time period when the solid is ground or until the particle size is reduced to an amount determined to be satisfactory, which can be easily determined by a person skilled in the art. The size of the particles can be considered as an acceptable size according to the specific circumstances. For example, compared with the production of Portland cement, at a coal mining site, a particle size with a larger particle size is acceptable.

[0081] In certain embodiments, the amount of grinding aid composition applied is about 0.00001% to 15%, about 0.00001% to 10%, about 0.0001% to 5%, about 0.001% to 3%, or 0.02% to about 0.08 vol%, based on the amount of liquid processed. In certain embodiments, the amount of grinding aid composition applied is about 0.00001% to 15%, about 0.00001% to 10%, about 0.0001% to 5%, about 0.001% to 3%, or about 0.02% to about 0.08%, based on the amount of solid processed.

[0082] In certain embodiments, the grinding aid is consumed during the grinding process. Typical consumption rates of grinding aid are about 0.02% to 0.08%, 0.04% to 0.08%, or 0.02% to 0.03% for cement and about 0.02% to 0.05% for limestone. In certain embodiments, the grinding aid may be dispensed by a calibrated dosing system.

[0083] In certain embodiments, the methods of the present invention result in a solid or solid-containing liquid grinding rate increase of at least 5%, preferably at least 10% after a single treatment. In certain embodiments, the solid or liquid-containing solid may be treated multiple times to further increase the total amount of ground particles and / or further increase the grinding rate.

[0084] In certain embodiments, the grinding aid composition according to the present invention is effective due to the reduction of the specific surface energy of particles in a liquid or solid containing a mineral, ore, element or other material. For example, in some embodiments, the sophorolipid will form micelles of neutralized particles, wherein the size of the micelle is less than 500 μm, less than 100 μm, less than 10 μm, less than 1 μm, greater than 100 nm, less than 50 nm, less than 25 nm, less than 15 nm or less than 10 nm.

[0085] In certain embodiments, the grinding aid compositions may be used in methods of processing ore, ore slurries, or other products obtained by mining.

[0086] In certain embodiments, the grinding aid composition can be used in the mineral processing process, especially in low-grade ores containing low concentrations of elements or other materials (such as gold or silver, etc.). In order to extract the elements or compounds of interest, it may be necessary to crush and grind the ore and pre-concentrate or separate the elements or materials from the ore by flotation or gravity separation. In certain embodiments, by adding the grinding aid composition in the mineral processing process, the grinding rate of the ore can be accelerated and the processing efficiency of the ore can be improved.

[0087] In certain embodiments, the grinding aid composition can be used in a leaching method, such as cyanidation gold extraction. The process of extraction by leaching includes crushing or grinding gold ore, leaching (e.g., leaching cyanide), washing and filtering of the leached slurry, extracting metal from the leachate or leached slurry, and smelting of the finished product. In certain embodiments, the grinding aid composition can be used in a method for grinding an ore, wherein the grinding aid composition improves the rate and / or efficiency of grinding the ore. The grinding of the ore can improve the leaching efficiency by increasing the surface area of ​​the ore that the leaching solution (e.g., sodium cyanide) can interact with.

[0088] In certain embodiments, the grinding aid composition of the present invention can replace traditional grinding aids or be used in combination with traditional grinding aids. The grinding aid of the present invention can neutralize the negative or positive charge on the surface of the particles, thereby inhibiting the agglomeration of the particles. The grinding aid composition can weaken the crystal interface due to the inter-particle penetration of the surfactant or the reduction of the cohesive force (specific surface energy) that binds the particles together.

[0089] In certain embodiments, the grinding aid composition can be used in tube mills, rod mills, ball mills, and autogenous and semi-autogenous mills that can process tens, hundreds, or thousands of tons of material. In addition, the grinding composition can be used in small-scale grinding operations (i.e., less than 10 tons of material), typically for high-value commodities (including gold), or in research laboratories.

[0090] In certain embodiments, the grinding aid composition can be used for various industrial methods, including the manufacture or processing of cement. In the product manufacturing process, the grinding aid composition can be mainly used for grinding minerals to obtain smaller particles (including, for example, powders). In certain embodiments, calcium sulfate (such as gypsum or anhydrite) is added to cement clinker, which is a sintered mixture of limestone and aluminosilicate materials (including clay, etc.). In certain embodiments, the mixture is finely ground using a grinding aid to form a finished cement powder. In certain embodiments, the grinding process is controlled to obtain a powder with a wide particle size range, wherein about 15% of the powder by mass includes particles less than 5 μm in diameter and about 5% of the particles greater than 45 μm in diameter. The fineness measurement commonly used is "specific surface area", i.e., the total particle surface area per unit mass of cement.

[0091] Advantageously, in certain embodiments, the grinding aid composition according to the present invention provides enhanced or improved efficiency of abrasive particles with limited negative environmental impact. In addition, the method of the present invention does not require complex equipment or high energy consumption, and the production of the grinding aid composition can be carried out on-site (including mines or industrial sites, etc.). In certain embodiments, the grinding aid composition of the present invention can reduce the use of chemical surfactants, synthetic grinding aids, or other potentially harmful chemicals used in grinding.

[0092] Production of microbial-based products

[0093] In certain embodiments, the present invention provides methods for cultivating microorganisms and generating microbial metabolites and / or other byproducts of microbial growth. The present invention further utilizes culture methods suitable for cultivating microorganisms and generating microbial metabolites on a desired scale. These culture processes include, but are not limited to, liquid culture / fermentation, solid state fermentation (SSF) and modifications, hybrids and / or combinations thereof.

[0094] Microorganisms can be bacteria, yeast and / or fungi, etc. These microorganisms can be natural microorganisms or genetically modified microorganisms. For example, microorganisms can be transformed with specific genes to show specific characteristics. Microorganisms can be mutants of desired strains. As used herein, "mutant" refers to a strain, genetic variant or subtype of a standard bacterium, wherein the mutant has one or more genetic variation forms (e.g., point mutation, missense mutation, nonsense mutation, deletion, duplication, frameshift mutation or amplification mutation) compared to a reference microorganism. The process of preparing mutants is well known in the field of microbiology. For example, UV mutagenesis and nitrosoguanidine are widely used for this purpose.

[0095] In certain embodiments, the microorganism is capable of producing amphiphilic molecules, enzymes, proteins and / or biopolymers. Microbial biosurfactants are particularly produced by a variety of microorganisms, such as bacteria, fungi and yeasts, including the following microbial species, etc.: Agrobacterium spp. (e.g., A. radiobacter); Arthrobacter spp.; Aspergillus spp.; Aureobasidium spp. (e.g., A. pullulans); Azotobacter (e.g., A. vinelandii, A. chroococcum); Azospirillum spp. (e.g., A. brasiliensis); Bacillus spp. (e.g., Bacillus subtilis B.subtili, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens B.amyloliquefaciens, Bacillus pumillus B.cereus, Bacillus licheniformis B.firmus, Bacillus laterosporus B.megaterium); Blakeslea; Candida spp. (e.g., C.albicans, C.rugosa, C.tropicalis, C.lipolytica, C.torulopsis); Clostridium (e.g., C.butyricum, C.tyrobutyricum, C.acetobutylicum, C.beijerinckii); Campylobacter spp.; Cornybacterium spp.; Cryptococcus spp.; Debaryomyces spp. (e.g. D. hansenii); Entomophthora spp.; Flavobacterium spp.; Gordonia spp.; Hansenula spp.; Hanseniaspora spp. (e.g. H. uvarum); Issatchenkia spp.; Kluyveromyces spp.; Meyerozyma spp. (e.g., M. guilliermondii); Mortierella spp.; Mycorrhiza spp.; Mycobacterium spp.; Nocardia spp.; Pichia spp. (e.g., Pichia anomala, Pichia guilliermondii, Pichia occidentalis, Pichia kudriavzevii); Phycomyces spp.; Phythium spp.; Pseudomonas spp. (e.g., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas chlororaphis, Pseudomonas putida, Pseudomonas florescens, Pseudomonas fragi, Pseudomonas syringae); Pseudozyma spp. (e.g., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Pseudomonas chlororaphis, Pseudomonas putida, Pseudomonas florescens, Pseudomonas fragi, Pseudomonas syringae); Pseudozyma spp. (e.g., Pseudomonas aphidis); Ralslonia spp. (e.g., Ralslonia eulropha); Rhodococcus spp. (e.g., Rhodococcus erythropolis); Rhodospirillum spp. (e.g., Rhodospirillum rubrum); Rhizobium spp.; Rhizopus spp.; Saccharomyces spp. (e.g., S. cerevisiae, S. boulardiisequela, S. torula); Sphingomonas spp. (e.g., S. paucimobilis); Starmerella spp. (e.g., S. bombicola); Thraustochytrium spp.; Torulopsis spp.; Ustilago spp. (e.g., U. maydis); Wickerhamomyces spp. (e.g., W. anomalus); Williopsis spp.; and / or Zygosaccharomyces spp.(e.g. Z.bailii).

[0096] In a preferred embodiment, the microorganism is Starmerella and / or Candida, such as Starmerella (Candida) bombicola, Candida apicola, Candida batista, Candida floricola, Candida riodocensis, Candida stellate and / or Candidakuoi, etc. In a specific embodiment, the microorganism is Starmerella (Candida) bombicola, such as strain ATCC 22214.

[0097] As used herein, "fermentation" refers to the cultivation or growth of cells under controlled conditions. Growth can be aerobic or anaerobic. In a preferred embodiment, the microorganisms are grown using SSF and / or a modified form thereof.

[0098] In one embodiment, the invention provides materials and methods for producing biomass (e.g., living cellular material), extracellular metabolites (e.g., small molecules and excreted proteins), residual nutrients, and / or intracellular components (e.g., enzymes and other proteins).

[0099] The microbial growth vessel used according to the present invention can be any fermenter or culture reactor for industrial use. In one embodiment, the vessel can have functional controls / sensors or can be connected to functional controls / sensors to measure important factors in the culture process, such as pH, oxygen, pressure, temperature, humidity, microbial density and / or metabolite concentration, etc.

[0100] In another embodiment, the vessel can also monitor the growth of microorganisms in the container (e.g., measuring the number of cells and the stage of growth). Alternatively, daily samples can be taken from the vessel and counted by techniques known in the art (e.g., dilution plate technique). Dilution plate method is a simple technique for estimating the number of organisms in a sample. This technique can also provide an indicator by which different environments or treatments can be compared.

[0101] In one embodiment, the method comprises supplementing the culture with a nitrogen source. The nitrogen source may be, for example, potassium nitrate, ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulfate, ammonium phosphate, ammonia, urea and / or ammonium chloride. These nitrogen sources may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

[0102] The method can provide oxygenation for the growing culture. One embodiment utilizes the slow movement of air to remove air low in oxygen content and introduce oxygenated air. In the case of submerged fermentation, the oxygenated air can be ambient air that is replenished daily by a mechanism including an impeller for mechanically agitating the liquid and an air distributor for supplying gas bubbles to the liquid to dissolve oxygen into the liquid.

[0103] The method may further include supplementing the culture with a carbon source. The carbon source is typically a carbohydrate, such as glucose, sucrose, lactose, fructose, trehalose, mannose, mannitol and / or maltose; an organic acid, such as acetic acid, fumaric acid, citric acid, propionic acid, malic acid, malonic acid and / or pyruvic acid; an alcohol, such as ethanol, propanol, butanol, pentanol, hexanol, isobutanol and / or glycerol; a fat and oil, such as soybean oil, rapeseed oil, rice bran oil, olive oil, corn oil, sesame oil and / or linseed oil. These carbon sources may be used alone or in combination of two or more.

[0104] In one embodiment, the growth factors and micronutrients of the microorganisms are included in the culture medium. This is particularly preferred when the growing microorganisms cannot generate all the vitamins they need. Inorganic nutrients may also be included in the culture medium, and the inorganic nutrients include trace elements such as iron, zinc, copper, manganese, molybdenum and / or cobalt. In addition, the source of vitamins, essential amino acids and trace elements may be included in the culture medium in the form of fine powder or meal (e.g., corn flour) or in the form of extracts (e.g., yeast extract, potato extract, beef extract, soybean extract, banana peel extract, etc.) or in purified form. Amino acids (e.g., amino acids that can be used for protein biosynthesis) may also be included.

[0105] In one embodiment, the culture medium may also include inorganic salts. Available inorganic salts may be potassium dihydrogen phosphate, dipotassium hydrogen phosphate, disodium hydrogen phosphate, magnesium sulfate, magnesium chloride, iron sulfate, iron chloride, manganese sulfate, manganese chloride, zinc sulfate, lead chloride, copper sulfate, sodium chloride, calcium chloride, sodium chloride, calcium carbonate and / or sodium carbonate. These inorganic salts may be used alone or in a combination of two or more.

[0106] In some embodiments, the culturing method may further include adding additional acid and / or antimicrobial agents to the culture medium before and / or during the culturing process.Antimicrobial agents or antibiotics are used to protect the culture from contamination.

[0107] Additionally, antifoaming agents may be added to prevent the formation and / or accumulation of foam during submerged cultivation.

[0108] The pH of the mixture should be appropriate for the microorganism of interest. Buffers and pH adjusters (e.g., carbonates and phosphates) can be used to stabilize the pH near the preferred value. When metal ions are present in high concentrations, it may be necessary to use a chelating agent in the culture medium.

[0109] The microorganisms can grow in a planktonic form or in a biofilm. If a biofilm is present, the vessel can contain a substrate on which the microorganisms can grow in a biofilm state. The system can also have the ability to apply stimuli (e.g., shear stress) that encourage and / or improve biofilm growth characteristics.

[0110] In one embodiment, the culture method of the microorganism is carried out at about 5° to about 100° C., preferably 15° C. to 60° C., more preferably 25° C. to 50° C. In another embodiment, the culture can be carried out continuously at a constant temperature. In another embodiment, the culture can be affected by temperature changes.

[0111] In one embodiment, the equipment used in the method and the culture process is a sterile device. Culture equipment (e.g., reactor / vessel) can be separated from a sterilizing device (e.g., autoclave), but connected thereto. Culture equipment can also have a sterilizing device that sterilizes on the spot before starting inoculation. Air can be sterilized by methods known in the art. For example, ambient air can pass through at least one filter before being introduced into the vessel. In other embodiments, culture medium can be pasteurized, or alternatively not heated at all, but low water activity and low pH value can be utilized to control the growth of undesirable bacteria.

[0112] In one embodiment, the present invention further provides a method for producing microbial metabolites by culturing the microbial strain of the present invention under conditions suitable for growth and metabolite production, and optionally purifying the metabolites, the microbial metabolites being biosurfactants, enzymes, proteins, ethanol, lactic acid, β-glucan, peptides, metabolic intermediates, polyunsaturated fatty acids and lipids, etc. The content of the metabolites produced by the method can be at least 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80% or 90%, etc.

[0113] Microbial growth byproducts produced by the microorganism of interest can be retained in the microorganism or secreted into the growth medium. The medium can contain compounds that stabilize the activity of the microbial growth byproducts.

[0114] The biomass content of the fermentation medium may be from 5 g / l to 180 g / l or more, or from 10 g / l to 150 g / l, etc.

[0115] The cell concentration can be at least 1×10 6 Up to 1×10 12 , 1×10 7Up to 1×10 11 , 1×10 8 Up to 1×10 10 , or 1×10 9 CFU / ml, etc.

[0116] The methods and apparatus for culturing microorganisms and producing microbial byproducts can be performed in a batch, quasi-continuous process, or a continuous process.

[0117] In one embodiment, all of the microbial culture composition is removed when the culture is complete (eg, when a desired cell density or density of a particular metabolite is reached). In this batch process, a completely new batch is started when the first batch is harvested.

[0118] In another embodiment, only a portion of the fermentation product is removed at any time. In this embodiment, the biomass with living cells, spores, conidia, hyphae and / or mycelium remains in the vessel as an inoculant for a new culture batch. The removed composition can be a cell-free culture medium or contain cells, spores or other reproductive propagules and / or combinations thereof. A quasi-continuous system is created in this way.

[0119] Advantageously, the method does not require complex equipment or high energy consumption. The microorganisms of interest can be cultured and utilized on-site on a small or large scale, even while still mixed with their culture medium.

[0120] In certain embodiments, the present invention provides a "microorganism-based composition", which means a composition comprising components produced by the growth of microorganisms or other cell cultures. Therefore, a microorganism-based composition may contain the microorganism itself and / or microorganism growth byproducts. The microorganism may be in an asexual state, a spore form, a hyphae form, any other form of a propagule, or a mixture of these. The microorganism may be a planktonic microorganism or a biofilm form, or a mixture of the two. The byproducts of growth may be metabolites, cell membrane components, expressed proteins and / or other cell components, etc. The microorganism may be a complete microorganism or a lysed microorganism. The microorganism may be present in the composition or removed from the composition. The microorganism may be present in the microorganism-based composition together with the fermentation broth in which they are cultured. For example, the cells may be at least 1×10 per milliliter of the composition. 3 , 1×10 4 , 1×10 5 , 1×10 6 , 1×10 7 , 1×10 8 , 1×10 9 , 1×10 10 , 1×10 11 , 1×10 12 , 1×10 13or more CFUs are present.

[0121] The present invention further provides "microorganism-based products" as products that are applied in practice to achieve the desired effect. Microorganism-based products can be only microorganism-based compositions obtained from microbial culture processes. Alternatively, microorganism-based products can contain other ingredients that have been added. For example, these other ingredients can include nutrients such as stabilizers, acids, buffers, carriers (e.g., water, saline solutions or any other appropriate carriers), nutrients added to support further growth of microorganisms, non-nutritional growth promoters and / or agents that help track microorganisms and / or compositions in their application environment. Microorganism-based products can also include mixtures based on microorganism-based compositions. Microorganism-based products can also include one or more components based on microorganism-based compositions, which have been treated in some way, such as but not limited to filtration, centrifugation, lysis, drying, purification, etc.

[0122] A microbial-based product of the present invention contains only a fermentation medium containing microorganisms and / or microbial metabolites produced by the microorganisms and / or any residual nutrients. The fermented product can be used directly without extraction or purification. If necessary, extraction and purification can be easily achieved using standard extraction and / or purification methods or techniques described in the literature.

[0123] The microorganisms in the microbial-based products can be in active or inactive form, and can also be vegetative cells, reproductive spores, conidia, mycelium, hyphae or any other form of microbial propagation bodies. The microbial-based products can also contain any combination of these forms of microorganisms.

[0124] In one embodiment, different strains of microorganisms are grown separately and then mixed together to produce a microbial-based product. The microorganisms may optionally be blended with the medium in which they were grown and dried prior to mixing.

[0125] The microbial-based products can be used without further stabilization, preservation and storage. Advantageously, the direct use of these microbial-based products maintains high viability of the microorganisms, reduces the possibility of contamination by foreign agents and undesirable microorganisms, and maintains the activity of byproducts of microbial growth.

[0126] After the microbial composition is harvested from the growth vessel, other components may be added when the harvested product is placed in a container or otherwise transported for use. For example, the additives may be buffers, carriers, other microbial compositions produced in the same facility or in a different facility, viscosity modifiers, preservatives, nutrients for microbial growth, surfactants, emulsifiers, lubricants, solubility modifiers, tracking agents, solvents, biocides, antibiotics, pH modifiers, chelating agents, stabilizers, UV inhibitors, other microorganisms, and other appropriate additives commonly used in such preparations.

[0127] Alternatively, the product may be stored prior to use. The storage time is preferably short. Thus, the storage time may be less than 60 days, 45 days, 30 days, 20 days, 15 days, 10 days, 7 days, 5 days, 3 days, 2 days, 1 day or 12 hours. In a preferred embodiment, if living cells are present in the product, the product is stored at a cool temperature, for example, below 20°C, 15°C, 10°C or 5°C. In another aspect, the biosurfactant composition can generally be stored at ambient temperature.

Claims

1. A grinding method comprising contacting a grinding aid composition comprising a biosurfactant with a particle-containing liquid or solid particle to produce abrasive particles.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising removing the abrasive particles from the liquid.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the solid comprises cement clinker.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the solid is a metal ore.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the liquid is an ore slurry.

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein the metal ore comes from a coal mine, an iron mine, a copper mine, a copper-nickel mine, a tin mine, a nickel mine, a gold mine, a silver mine, a molybdenum mine, an aluminum mine, a lead-zinc mine, a tungsten mine or a zinc mine.

7. The method according to claim 5, wherein the ore slurry comes from a coal mine, an iron mine, a copper mine, a copper-nickel mine, a tin mine, a nickel mine, a gold mine, a silver mine, a molybdenum mine, an aluminum mine, a lead-zinc mine, a tungsten mine or a zinc mine.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the solid is chalk, clay, cinder, coal, sand, gravel, coquina, diabase, gabbro, granite, gritstone, gypsum, limestone, marble, ore, phosphate rock, quartz, sandstone, slate, travertine, or any combination thereof.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the grinding aid composition further comprises a chemical surfactant, an acrylic polymer dispersant, a rheology modifier, a polymer, an alcohol, a glycol, a phenol, a lignin sulfate, a ketone, an acid, a hydrocarbon, a fatty acid, a fatty acid salt, or any combination thereof.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the grinding aid composition is in liquid form, and wherein the contacting step comprises mixing the composition with the liquid for a period of time from about 1 second to about 1 year.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the grinding aid composition is in solid form, and wherein the contacting step comprises mixing the composition with the solid for a period of time from about 1 second to about 1 year.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the concentration of the grinding aid composition in contact with the solid is from about 0.001% to about 1% by weight, or the concentration of the grinding aid composition in contact with the liquid is from about 0.001% to about 1% by volume.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein the biosurfactant is a sophorolipid and / or a yeast culture comprising a sophorolipid.

14. The method according to claim 13, wherein the yeast culture is of the genus Stamosaccharomyces and / or Candida.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the yeast is in a vegetative state.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the yeast is in the form of spores.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the grinding of the particles comprises one or a combination of: a. reducing the specific surface energy of the particles in the liquid or the solid particles; b. reducing the cohesive forces that bind the particles in the liquid or the solid particles together; c. weakening the crystal interface of the particles in the liquid or the solid particles; or d. neutralizing the particles in the liquid or the solid particles.

18. A grinding aid composition comprising a sophorolipid and / or a yeast culture comprising a sophorolipid, and one or more conventional grinding aid components.

19. The composition according to claim 18, wherein the yeast culture is Stamosaccharomyces and / or Candida.

20. The composition of claim 18, wherein the yeast is in a vegetative state.

21. The composition of claim 18, wherein the yeast is in spore form.

22. The composition of claim 18, wherein the conventional grinding aid component is selected from one or a combination of the following: a chemical surfactant; b polymer; cWater; d. acrylic polymer dispersant; e rheology modifier; f alcohol; g diol; hphenol; i Lignin sulfate; j ketone; K acid; l Hydrocarbons; m fatty acid; or nFatty acid salts.

23. The composition of claim 22, wherein the chemical surfactant is triethanolamine (TEA), triisopropanolamine, propylene glycol, TEA ester, polyethylene glycol phenol ether, or any combination thereof.

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