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Title: Sustainable Bioleaching of Rare Earth Elements from Industrial Waste Materials Using Agricultural Wastes

Journal Article · · ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [3];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [4];  [4]; ORCiD logo [5]
  1. University of Arizona, Department of Systems & Industrial Engineering, 1127 E. James E. Rogers Way, Room 263A, Tucson, Arizona 85721, United States
  2. Idaho National Laboratory, Department of Biological and Chemical Processing, P.O. Box 1625, Idaho Falls, Idaho 83415-2203, United States
  3. Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Physical and Life Science Directorate, Biosciences and Biotechnology Division, 7000 East Ave, Livermore, California 94550, United States
  4. Idaho National Laboratory, Department of Bioenergy Technologies, P.O. Box 1625, Idaho Falls, Idaho 83415-2203, United States
  5. Purdue University, Environmental and Ecological Engineering, Potter Engineering Center, Room 364, 500 Central Drive, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907-2022, United States
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Agricultural waste was used as substrate for fermentation by Gluconobacter oxydans to produce lixiviant for rare earth element (REE) recovery from industrial waste materials, i.e., spent fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) catalysts. Biolixiviant generated from potato wastes performed comparably to that generated from refined glucose (25.7% ±0.2 and 25.1% ±1.1 REE recovered, respectively). Corn stover yielded a slightly less effective biolixiviant (23.3% ±0.3 REE recovered) but may serve as a better industrial substrate since collection systems for stover are already in development and have been implemented in several locations. Techno-economic analysis indicated that the use of agricultural waste carbon could lead to a more cost-effective bioleaching process than refined glucose. Analyses suggested that a corn stover-based bioleaching plant would have 22% lower total costs than a potato wastewater-based plant, and a potato wastewater-based plant should have 17% lower total costs compared to a glucose-based plant. An environmental life cycle analysis showed no clear winner among the three alternatives when ten impact categories were considered simultaneously. However, a corn stover-based process generally showed less environmental impact than a potato wastewater-based process or a refined glucose-based process. Our studies indicate that using agricultural wastes as substrates for biological production of lixiviant provides a profitable means for recovering critical metals from recyclable waste materials.

Research Organization:
Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Energy Efficiency Office. Advanced Manufacturing Office
Grant/Contract Number:
AC52-07NA27344; AC07-05ID14517
OSTI ID:
1560265
Alternate ID(s):
OSTI ID: 1562296; OSTI ID: 1569280; OSTI ID: 1862747
Report Number(s):
INL/JOU-19-53307-Rev001; LLNL-JRNL-820034
Journal Information:
ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering, Journal Name: ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering Vol. 7 Journal Issue: 18; ISSN 2168-0485
Publisher:
American Chemical SocietyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 22 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (20)

A laboratory-scale pretreatment and hydrolysis assay for determination of reactivity in cellulosic biomass feedstocks journal January 2013
A sober view of the difficulties in scaling cellulosic biofuels journal January 2017
Fermentative production of high titer gluconic and xylonic acids from corn stover feedstock by Gluconobacter oxydans and techno-economic analysis journal November 2016
Techno-economic and Life Cycle Analysis for Bioleaching Rare-Earth Elements from Waste Materials journal December 2017
Progress in bioleaching: part B: applications of microbial processes by the minerals industries journal July 2013
Cascade hydrolysis and fermentation of corn stover for production of high titer gluconic and xylonic acids journal September 2018
Bioleaching of rare earth and radioactive elements from red mud using Penicillium tricolor RM-10 journal May 2013
Bioleaching of rare earth elements from monazite sand: Bioleaching of Rare Earth Elements from Monazite journal September 2015
The Taxonomy of Acetobacter and Allied Oxidative Bacteria journal January 1958
Capillary electrophoresis for the monitoring of carboxylic acid production by Gluconobacter oxydans journal February 2010
Bioleaching review part B: journal December 2003
Gluconic Acid Production from Potato Waste by Gluconobacter oxidans Using Sequential Hydrolysis and Fermentation journal June 2017
Bioleaching of rare earth elements from waste phosphors and cracking catalysts journal December 2016
Gluconic acid: Properties, production methods and applications—An excellent opportunity for agro-industrial by-products and waste bio-valorization journal December 2016
Potato pulp: microbiological characterization, physical modification, and application of this agricultural waste product journal October 1997
TRACI 2.0: the tool for the reduction and assessment of chemical and other environmental impacts 2.0 journal January 2011
Recycling of rare earths: a critical review journal July 2013
Potato peel as feedstock for bioethanol production: A comparison of acidic and enzymatic hydrolysis journal January 2014
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Figures / Tables (9)

Table 1(p. 4)table Table 1
Table 2(p. 4)table Table 2
Figure 1(p. 5)figure Figure 1
Figure 2(p. 5)figure Figure 2
Figure 3(p. 6)figure Figure 3
Figure 4(p. 6)figure Figure 4
Table 3(p. 6)table Table 3
Table 4(p. 7)table Table 4
Table 5(p. 7)table Table 5

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Related Subjects

37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
Fluid catalytic cracking catalyst
Critical materials
Corn stover
Urban mining
Environmental life cycle analysis
Techno-economic analysis
Gluconobacter oxydans
Potato wastewater
60 - APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES
Bioleaching
Rare Earth Elements
Technoeconomics
Life Cycle Analysis
FCC catalyst
Gluconobacter
Corn Stover
Potato Wastewater