Scientists Harness Bacteria To Extract Rare Metals For Green Technology

A groundbreaking alliance of scientists is turning to an unconventional ally in the fight against climate change—bacteria. The Guardian has reported that researchers at the University of Edinburgh are spearheading a project to use these microbes to extract rare metals, such as lithium, cobalt, and manganese, from discarded electronic equipment and old batteries. These metals are critical components in the development of green technologies, including electric vehicles, wind turbines, and solar panels. 

Professor Louise Horsfall, chair of sustainable biotechnology at Edinburgh, highlighted the increasing importance of these metals as society shifts away from petrochemicals towards electricity for heating, transport, and power, thereby becoming more dependent on metals. Horsfall emphasised that many of the devices powering green technology, such as photovoltaics, hydrogen fuel cells, and electric car motors, rely on rare metals.

The project’s significance is heightened by geopolitical factors, with China controlling much of the supply and processing of these rare earth elements. To get around the problems, the world needs to develop a circular economy where these minerals are reused wherever possible. Horsfall stresses the finite availability of these metals on Earth and the urgent need to stop discarding them as waste.  

Central to this recycling revolution is the microbe. Bacteria are remarkable organisms behind many extraordinary processes, like synthesis of nanoparticles of metals. Basically, they latch onto metal atoms and then spit them out as nanoparticles so that they do not poison them.

Utilising these bacteria, Horsfall and her team have successfully extracted metals from waste by dissolving old batteries and car parts, then allowing the bacteria to latch onto specific metals, depositing them as solid chemicals.  

The bacteria used in these processes are naturally occurring strains, but the team plans to employ gene-edited versions in the future to enhance their metal extraction capabilities.

The next phase of the project involves demonstrating that these extracted metals can be repurposed in the manufacture of new batteries or devices. This step is crucial in developing a circular economy for green technologies. The new legislation mandates that by the next decade, a significant proportion of metals used in green technology must be recycled. Meeting these goals will be challenging, but Horsfall believes that bacteria will play a vital role in achieving them.