The rare-earth elements are critical to many green energy technologies but are difficult to separate from one another because of their chemical similarity. We demonstrate an alternative, biogenic method based on the adsorption of lanthanide to the bacterium Roseobacter sp. AzwK-3b, immobilized on an assay filter, followed by subsequent desorption as a function of pH. The elution desorption data suggest that the basicity of the individual lanthanides is important in determining their desorption behavior. It is found that via preprotonation of the bacteria it is possible to concentrate a solution of equal concentrations of each lanthanide to nearly 50% of the three heaviest lanthanides (Tm, Lu, and Yb) in just two passes. This surpasses existing industrial practice. The findings suggest that there is an opportunity to harness the diversity of bacterial surface chemistry to separate and recover technologically important rare-earth metals in an environmentally benign manner.

William D. Bonificio

David R. Clarke

Environmental Science & Technology Letters

Published as soon as accepted and summarized in monthly issues, Environmental Science & Technology Letters is an international forum for brief communications on experimental or theoretical results of exceptional timeliness in all aspects of environmental science (pure and applied), and short reviews on emerging environmental science & technology topics. Manuscripts describing cross-disciplinary research or addressing emerging issues are of particular interest.

Environmental Science & Technology Letters is an international forum for brief communications on experimental or theoretical results of exceptional timeliness in all aspects of environmental science (both pure and applied). Published monthly, it features manuscripts that describe cross-disciplinary research or address emerging issues, as well as short reviews on emerging topics in environmental science and technology.

《Environmental Science and Technology Letters》是一个国际性论坛，专注于环境科学（包括基础和应用）各个方面的实验或理论结果的简要交流。该期刊每月发布已接受的稿件，并总结成月刊，特别关注跨学科研究或新兴问题的稿件。此外，期刊也欢迎关于新兴环境科学与技术主题的短评。

Category	Quartile
环境科学与生态学	2
环境科学与生态学, 工程环境	2
环境科学与生态学, 环境科学	2

Rare-Earth Separation Using Bacteria

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Category	Quartile
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES	1