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Advances in Removal and Recovery of Strategic Metals and Rare Earth Elements: New Approaches and Applications

A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Green Chemistry".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2022) | Viewed by 5445

Special Issue Editors

Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Interests: hydrometallurgy; biohydrometallurgy; bioleaching; biosorption
Department of Applied Mathematics, Materials Science and Engineering and Electronic Technology, School of Experimental Sciences and Technology, Rey Juan Carlos University, Móstoles, Spain
Interests: biohydrometallurgy; bioleaching; biosynthesis of nanoparticles; bioadsorption
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Critical raw materials include strategic metals (Co, Nb, In, Ga, Sc, etc.) and rare earth elements (REE) at high supply risk. These elements are crucial for the development of advanced technologies and its demand is growing at a rapid rate. Scarcity and depletion of natural resources are pushing forward towards the use of alternative raw materials among which industrial wastes offer good opportunities. Vast amounts of strategic metals and REE are currently found at low concentration in a wide range of mining-metallurgical wastes, including tailings, mining wastewaters, slags, dusts, ashes and e-wastes, among others. In a circular economy, sustainable waste management is key to minimize waste disposal and reduce environmental impact achieving at the same time zero-waste valorisation. Therefore, eco-friendly approaches to recover valuable contents from industrial wastes may secure a finite but abundant source of strategic metals and REE. In addition, inadequate processing and/or storage of these residues can lead to the release of hazardous metals into the environment.

Thus, this Special Issue aims to collect papers on recent advances on the removal and recovery of strategic metals and rare earth from industrial waste streams either solid or liquid. These include new eco-friendly approaches and applications such as biohydrometallurgical processes covering the treatment of mining and electronic residues.

Communications, full papers and reviews on the above-mentioned topics are particularly welcome.

Prof. Dr. Jesús Ángel Muñoz Sánchez
Dr. Laura Castro
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Molecules is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Strategic metals
  • Rare Earth Elements
  • Removal
  • Recovery
  • Bioprocesses
  • Bioleaching
  • Biosorption
  • Sorption
  • Green Approaches
  • Industrial Applications

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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18 pages, 2176 KiB  
Article
Assessing the Capability of Chemical Ameliorants to Reduce the Bioavailability of Heavy Metals in Bulk Fly Ash Contaminated Soil
by Joy Kumar Mandal, Siddhartha Mukherjee, Niharendu Saha, Nibedan Halder, Tufleuddin Biswas, Sanjoy Chakraborty, Sabry Hassan, Mohamed M. Hassan, Ali A. Abo-Shosha and Akbar Hossain
Molecules 2021, 26(22), 7019; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules26227019 - 20 Nov 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1681
Abstract
In-situ rehabilitation of fly ash at dumping sites has rarely been addressed for crop production due to growth-related constraints, largely of heavy metal (HM) contamination in soils and crops. Current communication deals with a novel approach to identify a suitable management option for [...] Read more.
In-situ rehabilitation of fly ash at dumping sites has rarely been addressed for crop production due to growth-related constraints, largely of heavy metal (HM) contamination in soils and crops. Current communication deals with a novel approach to identify a suitable management option for rejuvenating the contaminated soils. In this background, a 60-days incubation experiment was conducted with different fly ash-soil mixtures (50 + 50%, A1; 75 + 25%, A2; 100 + 0%, A3) along with four ameliorants, namely, lime (T1), sodium sulphide (T2), di-ammonium phosphate (T3), and humic acid (T4) at 30 ± 2 °C to assess the ability of different fly ash-soil-ameliorant mixtures in reducing bio-availability of HMs. Diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA)-extractable bio-available HM contents for lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni), and chromium (Cr) and their respective ratios to total HM contents under the influence of different treatments were estimated at 0, 15, 30, 45, and 60 days of incubation. Further, the eco-toxicological impact of different treatments on soil microbial properties was studied after 60 days of experimentation. A1T1 significantly recorded the lowest bio-availability of HMs (~49–233% lower) followed by A2T1 (~35–133%) among the treatments. The principal component analysis also confirmed the superiority of A1T1 and A2T1 in this regard. Further, A1T1 achieved low contamination factor and ecological risk with substantial microbial biomass carbon load and dehydrogenase activity. Thus, liming to fly ash-soil mixture at 50:50 may be considered as the best management option for ameliorating metal toxicity. This technology may guide thermal power plants to provide the necessary package of practices for the stakeholders to revive their contaminated lands for better environmental sustainability. Full article
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Review

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10 pages, 1789 KiB  
Review
Biohydrometallurgy for Rare Earth Elements Recovery from Industrial Wastes
by Laura Castro, María Luisa Blázquez, Felisa González and Jesús Ángel Muñoz
Molecules 2021, 26(20), 6200; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/molecules26206200 - 14 Oct 2021
Cited by 14 | Viewed by 3139
Abstract
Biohydrometallurgy recovers metals through microbially mediated processes and has been traditionally applied for the extraction of base metals from low-grade sulfidic ores. New investigations explore its potential for other types of critical resources, such as rare earth elements. In recent times, the interest [...] Read more.
Biohydrometallurgy recovers metals through microbially mediated processes and has been traditionally applied for the extraction of base metals from low-grade sulfidic ores. New investigations explore its potential for other types of critical resources, such as rare earth elements. In recent times, the interest in rare earth elements (REEs) is growing due to of their applications in novel technologies and green economy. The use of biohydrometallurgy for extracting resources from waste streams is also gaining attention to support innovative mining and promote a circular economy. The increase in wastes containing REEs turns them into a valuable alternative source. Most REE ores and industrial residues do not contain sulfides, and bioleaching processes use autotrophic or heterotrophic microorganisms to generate acids that dissolve the metals. This review gathers information towards the recycling of REE-bearing wastes (fluorescent lamp powder, spent cracking catalysts, e-wastes, etc.) using a more sustainable and environmentally friendly technology that reduces the impact on the environment. Full article
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