Bioadsorption of Rare Earth Elements through Cell Surface Display of Lanthanide Binding Tags
Citations Over TimeTop 10% of 2016 papers
Abstract
With the increasing demand for rare earth elements (REEs) in many emerging clean energy technologies, there is an urgent need for the development of new approaches for efficient REE extraction and recovery. As a step toward this goal, we genetically engineered the aerobic bacterium Caulobacter crescentus for REE adsorption through high-density cell surface display of lanthanide binding tags (LBTs) on its S-layer. The LBT-displayed strains exhibited enhanced adsorption of REEs compared to cells lacking LBT, high specificity for REEs, and an adsorption preference for REEs with small atomic radii. Adsorbed Tb(3+) could be effectively recovered using citrate, consistent with thermodynamic speciation calculations that predicted strong complexation of Tb(3+) by citrate. No reduction in Tb(3+) adsorption capacity was observed following citrate elution, enabling consecutive adsorption/desorption cycles. The LBT-displayed strain was effective for extracting REEs from the acid leachate of core samples collected at a prospective rare earth mine. Our collective results demonstrate a rapid, efficient, and reversible process for REE adsorption with potential industrial application for REE enrichment and separation.
Related Papers
- → Color Tuning and White Light Emission via in Situ Doping of Luminescent Lanthanide Metal–Organic Frameworks(2013)219 cited
- → Electronegativity and structural characteristics of lanthanides(2004)41 cited
- New Opportunities for Lanthanide Luminescence(2007)
- → Complexation of lanthanide nitrates(1992)6 cited
- → Extraction of macro- and microamounts of lanthanides by D2EHPA(1990)6 cited