Critical Materials Innovation Hub Research Highlights

A new method to recover In, Ga, and Ge from zinc smelting

CMI researchers at Colorado School of Mines created a new method to recover In, Ga, and Ge from zinc smelting

Proposed processing of zinc ferrite residue from zinc smelting yields separate streams for the critical materials Ga, In, and Ge while also producing revenue from increased Zn recovery.

Simulations reveal precisely how water and ligands bind to the surface of a rare earth mineral

CMI researchers at ORNL and UC-Davis collaborated on simulations that reveal precisely how water and ligands bind to the surface of a rare earth mineral

Resemblance between the naturally occurring and the computed crystal structure morphology (left). The 2D free energy surface as a function of the distance (z) from the central layer and the number of water-water hydrogen bonds (n), highlighting the multilayered water structure and the associated exchange timescales at the water-xenotime interface(right).

Computer-aided design of bis-phosphinate ligands for selective adsorption on bastnaesite

CMI research at ORNL and UC-Davis led to computer-aided design of bis-phosphinate ligands for selective adsorption on bastnaesite

Illustration of conceptual design of surface-active molecules (collectors) that are positioned to provide an optimal binding with the (100) surface of bastnaesite, the natural crystal morphology, which is shown as a chiseled at edges hexagonal prism.

Reconciling diverging views on mineral depletion - a modified cumulative availability curve applied to copper resources

CMI researchers at Colorado School of Mines found diverging views on mineral depletion using a modified cumulative availability curve applied to copper resources

Modified Cumulative Availability Curve integrating copper reserves and resources. The vertical axis indicates the estimated extraction cost in different countries. The horizontal axis indicates remaining contained copper from known deposits.

Finding optimal conditions for bioleaching lithium cobalt oxide (LCO) cathode materials

CMI researchers are finding optimal conditions for bioleaching Lithium Cobalt Oxide (LCO) cathode materials

Bar graph compares the projected global warming impact of different leaching approaches.

Electrolyte design for separation of rare earth metals (Pr & Nd)

CMI researchers at Idaho National Laboratory worked with OLI Systems to create an electrolyte design for separation of rare earth metals (Pr & Nd)

0.0375 M Pr acetate, 0.0375 M Nd acetate, 0.2 M lithium tartrate (a) before dissolution of precipitate (b) after adjusting pH.

Selective REE recovery from magnet leachate

CMI researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory and Pennsylvania State University working on biosorption had a technical paper published about the use of a novel protein for selective binding with rare earth elements

Biosorption – selective REE-lanmodulin binding

CMI researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Idaho National Laboratory and Pennsylvania State University working on biosorption used a novel protein for selective binding with rare earth elements

REE/Cu thermodynamic selectivity of common REE chelators and showing high REE-selectivity of Lanmodulin (LanM).

Machine vision development for automated pattern recognition

CMI researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory developed a machine vision for automated pattern recognition

Automated fastener classification & ID setup

Critical materials recovery and circular economy research laboratory

CMI researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory developed a critical materials recovery and circular economy research laboratory