This allows these rare elements, for which demand is steadily growing, to be collected from wastewater from mining, metallurgy, and the recycling of e-waste, and reused. Rare earth elements (REEs) are a group of 17 chemically similar metals, which got their name because they typically occur at low concentrations (between 0.5 and 67 parts …Web

Cornell researchers are engineering bacteria to solve challenges of extracting rare earth elements from ore; the substances are vital for modern life but …Web

More information: Rare earths stick to rare cyanobacteria: future potential for bioremediation and recovery of rare earth elements, Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology (2023). DOI: 10. ...Web

One previously uncharacterized species of Nostoc cyanobacteria performed the best. Its bioabsorption of the four rare-earth elements from the solutions pulled in between 84.2 and 91.5 mg of metal ...Web

A bacterial culture can do the work of separating rare-earth elements, or lanthanides, used widely in advanced batteries and magnets (Environ. Sci. Technol. Lett. 2016, DOI: 10.1021/acs.estlett ...Web

G. oxydans is known for making an acid called biolixiviant that dissolves rock; the bacteria uses the acid to pull phosphates from rare earth elements. The researchers have begun to manipulate...Web

Processing one ton of rare earths can produce 2,000 tons of toxic waste. ... but Clarke and Bonifico wondered if all rare earths could be filtered through bacteria. Credit: Harvard University ...Web

Previously, researchers had engineered bacteria with surface receptors that can pick out rare earths from complex sources like electronic waste. But no matter how well any bacteria can bind metals ...Web

To meet U.S. annual needs for rare earth elements, roughly 71.5 million tonnes (~78.8 million tons) of raw ore would be required to extract 10,000 kilograms (~22,000 pounds) of elements.Web

Oct. 2, 2023 — Scientists have characterized the genome of a metal-loving bacteria with an affinity for rare earth elements. The research paves the way towards …Web

Penn State scientists have discovered a new mechanism by which bacteria can select between different rare earth elements, ... rare earths are 15 elements on the periodic table—the lanthanides ...Web

A bacterial protein found in English oak buds could be used to more efficiently process the rare earth elements needed for different technologies. Rare earth elements are used in products such as ...Web

Penn State scientists have discovered a new mechanism by which bacteria can select between different rare earth elements, using the ability of a bacterial protein to bind to another unit of itself ...Web

Rare-earth element (REE) demand is expected to increase by a factor of up to 7 by 2040. Recycling avoids the significant hurdles associated with opening new mines, but collection and disassembly of REE-containing devices are barriers. Absolute and relative abundances of REEs and co-occurring constituents differ significantly in secondary …Web

A new method improves the extraction and separation of rare-earth elements—a group of 17 chemical elements critical for technologies such as smart phones and electric car batteries—from unconventional sources. New research led by scientists at Pennsylvania State University and LLNL demonstrates how a protein isolated from …Web

The new method takes advantage of a bacterial protein called lanmodulin, previously discovered by the research team, that is almost a billion times better at binding to rare earth elements than to ...Web

In living organisms, the rare earths really are rare, on the other hand. As they dissolve hardly at all in water, most organisms cannot use them for their …Web

Rare earths bearing core sample drilled at La Paz, Arizona. Image courtesy of American Rare Earths Ltd/ photographer Dane Rhys. Using naturally occurring and engineered proteins and bacteria, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) scientists and collaborators will separate and purify rare-earth elements so they can be …Web

In the first stage, the mixed solution containing rare earths is first chemically leached with an aqueous inorganic acid (e.g., HCl, H 2 SO 4, or HNO 3); in the second stage, the leaching solution is suitable for separation and purification technology to extract single or mixed rare earths, depending on the different production requirements; in ...Web

In spite of the archaic term, most of rare earths are common elements and some of them are even more abundant than other metals, such as copper or lead. ... Shin D, Kim J, Kim BS, Jeong J, Lee JC. Use of phosphate solubilizing bacteria to leach rare earth elements from monazite-bearing ore. Minerals. 2015; 5 (2):189-202; 29. Keekan KK ...Web

Sci. Technol. 2019, DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.9b04608 ). Previously, researchers had engineered bacteria with surface receptors that can pick out rare earths from …Web

Rare earth (RE) elements are a group of 17 chemical elements including the 15 lanthanides plus Yttrium and Scandium. RE have been identified as critical elements due to their special properties (e.g., catalytic, metallurgical, nuclear, electrical, magnetic, and luminescent) and various applications in many modern technologies, environment and …Web

The bacteria does a good job of separating clusters of rare earths, but Bonificio admits that isolating a pure element is difficult. Emmert too is recycling a mixture.Web

A critical review on solvent extraction of rare earths from aqueous solutions. Miner Eng, 56 (2014), pp. 10-28, 10.1016/j.mineng.2013.10.021. ... Adsorption of rare earth elements onto bacterial cell walls and its implication for REE sorption onto natural microbial mats. Chem Geol, 219 (2005), ...Web

Rare earths usually exist in single or binary mixed forms [16].In order to obtain a single rare earth element, researchers have conducted a lot of research [17].Pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical processes are commonly used in the reports [11].Although pyrometallurgy reduces the use of organic solvents, the melting of metals …Web

Bacteria, algae, or fungi can absorb rare earths. Microorganisms such as bacteria, algae, or fungi can absorb rare earths into their cells and cause them to ferment. The European project REEgain, funded with EUR 1 million by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) by the end of June 2022, tried to provide an answer to this …Web

This paper reports the results of the experimental determination of the coefficient of sorption of rare-earth elements and yttrium (REY) under conditions of acidic pH using several strains of heterotrophic bacteria (Microbacterium sp., Curtobacterium sp., Bacillus subtilis, Pseudomonas putida, and Bacillus pumilis) that are widespread in …Web

About 97% of the global supply of rare earths comes from China, especially from the Fe-REE-Nb mineral deposit at Bayan Obo in Inner Mongolia, it holds 36% of the world's rare earth reserves, which ...Web

rare-earth metals in an environmentally benign manner. INTRODUCTION It is widely recognized that the rare-earth lanthanide elements (La through Lu) are crucial constituents in advanced materials for many existing and future energy technologies.1 The rare earths, notably Dy, Nd, and Sm, are used, for instance, in high-Web

A group of exotic bacteria have been used to efficiently extract rare earth elements (REEs) from wastewater – materials that are essential for many of today's electronics. REEs are a group of 17 chemically similar metals which got their name because they typically occur at low concentrations (between 0.5 and 67 parts per million) within …Web

Most of rare earths are common elements in the Earth's crust, and some of them are even more abundant than other metals, such as copper or lead. ... The lixiviant produced by the bacterial culture mainly contains gluconic acid (220 mM) and the pH value is 2.1. REEs leaching yield from phosphogypsum using the biolixiviant were compared …Web

Image courtesy of American Rare Earths Ltd/ photographer Dane Rhys. Using naturally occurring and engineered proteins and bacteria, Lawrence Livermore …Web

Mutant bacteria. Monazite is one of the ores known to contain rare earths in sufficient quantities to be worth mining. Schmitz can't just throw a chunk of monazite and some bacteria into a beaker and wait to see what happens. Rather, the initial screening for genes that may be related to leaching of rare earths will happen in microplates that ...Web

To realize the extraction of rare earths, the bacteria were used to adsorb rare-earth ions in mother solution from ore soil leached with ammonium sulphate. The waste liquid after adsorption contained a large amount of ammonia nitrogen and was made into a basal medium suitable for the growth of fungiWeb

Once the rare earths have been leached out of the monazite or other ores, they still need to be separated from each other and from the impurities that make it through the leaching process. ... In order to know exactly how effective and efficient the bacteria are at leaching and separating rare-earth elements, the team needs to know exactly how ...Web

The removal of rare earth elements (REEs) from solution in various microorganisms was examined. Seventy-six strains from 69 species (22 bacteria, 20 actinomycetes, 18 fungi, and 16 yeasts) were ...Web

Biosorption of metal ions by phototrophic microorganisms is regarded as a sustainable and alternative method for bioremediation and metal recovery. In this study, 12 cyanobacterial strains, including 7 terrestrial and 5 aquatic cyanobacteria, covering a broad phylogenetic diversity were investigated for their potential application in the enrichment of …Web

Rare earths are a group of 17 elements with chemical properties that make them useful for a range of high-tech applications. Because of geological good fortune and early manufacturing investments, ...Web