At CMI Team member Iowa State University, a researcher works on a better way to re(harvest) rare earth metals.
Rare-earth metals are an indispensable part of today’s high-tech consumer products. As demand for them increases, so does the need for enhancing a new frontier in extracting those metals from electronic waste – a more environmentally friendly way than taking them directly from the ground.
Cyclone Engineer Ratul Chowdhury is applying data-driven research to make innovations in that new process.
Chowdhury, an assistant professor of chemical and biological engineering, will work with a team of collaborators led by the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, together with Penn State and industrial partners. The project is funded through the Critical Materials Innovation Hub (CMI). The CMI is an Energy Innovation Hub led by Ames National Laboratory with support from the DOE’s Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office (AMMTO).
Part of the new rare-earth metals extraction technology revolves around using the protein Lanmodulin (LanM), which binds to rare-earth metals and aids in their separation from various sources, such as electronic wastes and magnets. Since the United States needs to import much of its supply of rare-earth metals, developing alternative and unconventional sources for them has become an important objective.
See the full story: A better way to (re)harvest rare-earth metals