This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Scientists at the Department of Energy's (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) are exploring how durable, customizable bacterial spores could capture rare earth elements (REE) from acid mine drainage and other metal-containing waste streams. The project supports new methods of sourcing critical minerals essential for the nation's economic strength and national security.
The Spore Platform for REE Recovery (SpoREE) project combines biological engineering, artificial intelligence (AI)-aided protein design, advanced imaging and chemical analysis to develop biological materials that can identify and bind to rare earth ions in liquid waste streams. The goal is a highly efficient process in which concentrated elements are stripped from the spores and converted into valuable materials, while the spores are cleaned and reused. SpoREE began as a critical minerals and materials pilot project supported by the DOE Office of Science Biological and Environmental Research program and was recently approved for a two-year extension based on its initial successes.
Project lead Brian Sanders discussed what the pilot project accomplished, what researchers will investigate next and where the technology could lead. A: Certain bacteria produce spores—dormant, highly durable structures that protect their genetic material under harsh conditions. We are engineering the surfaces of those spores to display proteins that bind REEs.
You can think of the spore as a robust biological bead. We can customize its surface for a particular metal and then assemble many spores into a material that could filter metals from water. A: Spores are compact biological particles with tough, multilayered surfaces.
They can withstand dehydration, temperature changes, ultraviolet radiation and challenging chemical conditions, including the highly acidic conditions found in some mine drainage. They also offer three important advantages: robustness, scalability and engineerability. Bacterial spores can potentially be produced in large quantities through fermentation, and we can use genetic tools to modify proteins on their surfaces or within their different layers.
A: Acid mine drainage is water that flows from or collects near mines and becomes highly acidic through geochemical and microbial processes. Under those conditions, metals can be released from surrounding rock and soil and accumulate in the water. Appalachia has large volumes of acid mine drainage associated with coal mines.
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