Bioleaching rare earth elements from bastnaesite with isolated functional bacterium: An eco-friendly alternative...

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Environmental Science
• Materials Science

Background:

• Rare earth elements (REEs) are critical for modern technologies.
• Traditional REE extraction methods pose environmental concerns.
• Bioleaching offers a sustainable alternative for REE recovery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate simulated lixiviants for REE extraction from bastnaesite.
• To isolate and utilize a functional bacterium for REE bioleaching.
• To investigate the use of agricultural waste as a carbon source for biolixiviant production.

Main Methods:

• Systematic evaluation of simulated lixiviants, identifying lactic acid as optimal.
• Isolation of a bacterium closely related to Lactobacillus rhamnosus for bioleaching.
• Pretreatment of agricultural waste and subsequent microbial fermentation to produce biolixiviant.

Main Results:

• Lactic acid was identified as the most effective simulated lixiviant.
• A functional bacterium, highly similar to Lactobacillus rhamnosus, was isolated.
• 53% REE leaching efficiency was achieved using 0.20 mol/L biolixiviant, comparable to 1.0 mol/L pure lactic acid.

Conclusions:

• The isolated bacteria efficiently convert lignocellulosic biomass into effective biolixiviants for REE extraction.
• This bioleaching strategy provides a promising, low-dosage method for REE recovery.
• The research contributes to sustainable REE mining and agricultural waste valorization.