About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2026 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Biological Materials Science
|
| Presentation Title |
Biological Strategies for Aqueous Rare Earth Element Separation Using Lanmodulin-Based Biosorbents |
| Author(s) |
Dan Park, Ziye Dong, Patrick Diep, Jeremy Seidel, Joseph Cotruvo, Yongqin Jiao |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Yongqin Jiao |
| Abstract Scope |
Rare earth elements (REEs) are critical to clean energy and electronics, but their extraction and separation remain environmentally and economically challenging. I will present a biosorbent platform for all-aqueous REE purification using bacterial protein lanmodulins with exceptional REE affinity and selectivity. When immobilized on porous resins, lanmodulins enable selective separation of REEs from complex mixtures. To guide process optimization and scale-up, we developed a thermodynamic model that captures REE binding behavior across diverse feedstocks and reveals intrinsic limitations of the native lanmodulin from Methylorubrum extorquens. To overcome these, we established a high-throughput screen to profile intra-REE selectivity across over 1,000 natural and engineered proteins. I will highlight newly discovered variants with enhanced separation performance and describe their deployment across multiple feedstocks and scales. These advances support biologically based, solvent-free REE separation as a viable alternative to traditional methods. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Biomaterials, Extraction and Processing, Other |