In CMI research reported in the Chemical & Engineering News story "Microbial column captures rare earths from electronic waste: Researchers make hydrogel beads full of bacterial matter that capture rare-earth elements," CMI researcher Yonquin Jiao of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory explains new research results about using bacteria to remove rare earth elements from electronic waste. For this bioleaching, researchers used gel beads with bacteria that can adsorb the rare earths.
The paper, "Microbe encapsulation for selective rare-earth recovery from electronic waste leachates," appears in the Dec. 3 issue of Environmental Science & Technology
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