{"id":30496,"date":"2023-02-28T11:59:45","date_gmt":"2023-02-28T11:59:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/?p=30496"},"modified":"2023-05-12T13:36:47","modified_gmt":"2023-05-12T12:36:47","slug":"bacteria-found-collect-rare-earth-elements-reuse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.innovationnewsnetwork.com\/bacteria-found-collect-rare-earth-elements-reuse\/30496\/","title":{"rendered":"Bacteria found to collect rare earth elements for reuse"},"content":{"rendered":"
As the global shift to green energy takes shape, it is increasingly advantageous to move to a circular economy where resources are recycled and reused. Rare earth elements (REEs), which are crucial to this clean transition, are typically mined from an open pit which can negatively impact the environment. This seems counterproductive, and it is, therefore, important that another way to extract these metals is found.<\/p>\n
Now, German scientists from the Technical University of Munich have found a new method that allows for rare earth elements to be recycled efficiently. The team discovered that the biomass of some exotic photosynthetic cyanobacteria can efficiently absorb REEs from wastewater, for example, derived from mining, metallurgy, or the recycling of e-waste. The rare earth elements that are absorbed by the biomass can then be washed and collected for reuse.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere, we optimised the conditions of REE uptake by the cyanobacterial biomass, and characterised the most important chemical mechanisms for binding them. These cyanobacteria could be used in future eco-friendly processes for simultaneous REE recovery and treatment of industrial wastewater,\u201d said Dr Thomas Br\u00fcck, a professor at the Technical University of Munich and the study\u2019s last author.<\/p>\n