Protein could unlock new sources of rare-earth elements
Lanmodulin can extract and purify technology metals from electronic waste and coal ash
by Mark Peplow, special to C&EN
A protein that binds rare-earth elements could be used to extract and separate these valuable metals from low-grade sources, such as coal ash or electronic waste (ACS Cent. Sci. 2021, DOI: 10.1021/acscentsci.1c00724).
The rare-earth elements (REEs) include the 15 lanthanides, along with scandium and yttrium, and many are in high demand for products such as electric vehicles, wind turbines, and light-emitting diodes. Although most REEs are not particularly rare, they tend to be spread thinly throughout Earth’s crust rather than concentrated in a single place, which limits opportunities for mining them at scale. And the elements are often found together in the ground and share similar chemistry, requiring separation processes that involve large amounts of energy and organic solvents.