sciencedaily.com
Billions in rare earth elements may be hiding in America's coal ash
A research team led by Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) has received a $3.3 million award from the National Science Foundation's Growing Convergence Research program to investigate whether biological strategies used by diatoms, sea sponges, and plants could help recover those resources with less energy and fewer harsh chemicals. The five-year, two-phase effort is being led by Mingjiang Tao, associate professor in the WPI Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering. Professors Carrick Eggleston and Yan Wang are serving as co-principal investigators. Researchers from George Mason University, the University of California San Diego, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and the University at Buffalo will also contribute. "Recovering critical minerals is only part of the opportunity," Tao said. "We want to develop a process that uses as much of each waste stream as possible, separating strategically important elements while converting the remaining material into useful products. That whole-material approach could fundamentally change how industries manage waste and obtain essential resources." Valuable Minerals Hidden in Waste The project is designed to tackle two related problems. Many silicon-derived materials used in concrete, glass, ceramics, semiconductors, and silicones require high temperatures, large amounts of energy, and intensive chemical processing to produce. At the same time,...
