Austrian reearchers use bioleaching and bioaccumulation process for recovering rare earths

In Austria, a research collaboration between BOKU Tulln and IMC University of Applied Sciences Krems is using the further development of bioleaching and bioaccumulation to develop a two-stage, environmentally friendly and sustainable process for recovering rare earths. In the bioaccumulation step, metal recovery rates of up to 85% were achieved from electronic scrap. The key to success lies in the combination of biotechnological processes. The promising foundations for these methods, which are currently under development, were recently published in the renowned journal Frontiers in Microbiology.