Water and brines used in several industrial operations contain energy-critical metals like rare earth elements and lithium. These metals help drive technologies that fight climate change and create a more sustainable environment. This project investigates ways to get these metals out of contaminated water and brines used in oil and gas recovery, mining operations, geothermal aquifers and seawater desalination.
Project funds support personnel who will research new technology that selectively removes rare earth elements from aqueous sources. This technology is based on rhamnolipids, which are soaps made of sugars and fats. Rhamnolipids bind rare earth elements in solutions containing many metals. Rhamnolipids are made in nature by bacteria, but in this research they are produced synthetically using a UArizona-developed and -patented process.
Researchers will use this proof-of-concept work to apply for grants that will combine this new technology with others that focus on other metals like lithium. The goal is to create a viable sorption technology platform that addresses the entire spectrum of energy-critical metals.
The mining industry could use this platform to harvest metals from mining waste streams. That would reduce the need for hard-rock mining, which greatly impacts the environment and human health. It also would clean waste-stream water for reuse.
For more information on this project, please contact: Raina Maier