Biomining for sustainable recovery of rare earth elements from mining waste: A comprehensive review

Phong H N Vo; Soroosh Danaee; Ho Truong Nam Hai; Lai Nguyen Huy; Tuan A H Nguyen; Hong T M Nguyen; Unnikrishnan Kuzhiumparambil; Mikael Kim; Long D Nghiem; Peter J Ralph

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168210

Biomining for sustainable recovery of rare earth elements from mining waste: A comprehensive review

Sci Total Environ. 2024 Jan 15:908:168210. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168210. Epub 2023 Nov 2.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Climate Change Cluster, Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney, 15 Broadway, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia. Electronic address: phong.vo@uts.edu.au.
² Biotechnology Department, Iranian Research Organization for Science and Technology, Tehran 3353-5111, Iran.
³ Faculty of Environment, University of Science, 227 Nguyen Van Cu Street, District 5, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Viet Nam.
⁴ Environmental Engineering and Management, Asian Institute of Technology, Klongluang, Pathumthani, Thailand.
⁵ Sustainable Minerals Institute, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia.
⁶ Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS), The University of Queensland, Queensland 4102, Australia.
⁷ Climate Change Cluster, Faculty of Science, University of Technology Sydney, 15 Broadway, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia.
⁸ Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia.

PMID: 37924876
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168210

Abstract

Rare earth elements (REEs) are essential for advanced manufacturing (e.g., renewable energy, military equipment, electric vehicles); hence, the recovery of REEs from low-grade resources has become increasingly important to address their growing demand. Depending on specific mining sites, its geological conditions, and sociodemographic backgrounds, mining waste has been identified as a source of REEs in various concentrations and abundance. Yttrium, cerium, and neodymium are the most common REEs in mining waste streams (50 to 300 μg/L). Biomining has emerged as a viable option for REEs recovery due to its reduced environmental impact, along with reduced capital investment compared to traditional recovery methods. This paper aims to review (i) the characteristics of mining waste as a low-grade REEs resource, (ii) the key operating principles of biomining technologies for REEs recovery, (iii) the effects of operating conditions and matrix on REEs recovery, and (iv) the sustainability of REEs recovery through biomining technologies. Six types of biomining will be examined in this review: bioleaching, bioweathering, biosorption, bioaccumulation, bioprecipitation and bioflotation. Based on a SWOT analyses and techno-economic assessments (TEA), biomining technologies have been found to be effective and efficient in recovering REEs from low-grade sources. Through TEA, coal ash has been shown to return the highest profit amongst mining waste streams.

Keywords: Bioaccumulation; Bioleaching; Biomining; Biosorption; Rare earth elements.

Publication types

Review