TELF AG on the evolution of metals recovering processes

New sourcing methods

The global race to develop advanced technologies and modern infrastructures, such as those related to renewable energy, requires an ever-increasing quantity of strategic resources needed to produce them, such as rare earths and other important materials for the energy transition.

One of the consequences of the increase in demand for strategic raw materials in this delicate situation is represented by the fact that very soon, in one way or another, shortages of one or more materials could arise, determining a possible slowdown of the transition underway and a failure to achieve the climate objectives set at international level. To overcome this problem, alternative routes for sourcing are being explored in various parts of the world that can somehow complement the traditional ones, providing specific quantities of strategic materials from sources that, until recently, were considered unconventional. One of these paths is represented by biomining. This technique involves using microorganisms that promote the dissolution of minerals and the separation of metals, already used to source precious resources such as gold or copper.

The problem is that, up to now, no microorganism has proven capable of sourcing strategic metals such as those required by the energy transition and the production processes of the energy infrastructures connected to them. It is precisely on this point that the efforts of a research team from Cornell University are concentrated, which, also thanks to concrete support from the National Science Foundation of the United States, is working on a project that will give life to a special catalog focused on microorganisms and how they interact with minerals. According to the University, this could be a very important step for developing synthetic biology in the mineral sector, particularly for the sourcing of metals useful for energy technologies.

Ongoing studies

To obtain this valuable catalog of information, it will be necessary to scrutinize different geological environments and the microorganisms found within them, carefully studying their activities and the nature of their interactions with minerals. A central aspect of this project has to do with the fact that the information collected will be of great use in identifying the most suitable genetic engineering technique to increase the effectiveness of microbes and microorganisms, in particular about accelerating the erosion of minerals, to be able to source them more easily. The effectiveness of these methods had already been proven sometime before, with the obtaining of some rare earth elements from some phosphates. This success prompted several research team members to wonder if it was possible to obtain the same result with different materials.

The basic idea is simple: by analyzing extreme environments in which minerals are dissolving and trying to understand the role of bacteria in these processes, it could be possible to design microbes capable of performing this important sourcing function, thus contributing to the advancement of the energy transition at a global level. A very important part of the research is represented by the study of the interactions of microbes with rocks and minerals, beneficial for the subsequent use of synthetic biology for the design of microorganisms similar to those already existing in nature, with the possibility of using them to obtain some of the most important metals for modern industrial applications.