Mechanical Engineering
Alteon
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10mo ago
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84%
Little bacterium may make big impact on rare-earth processing
www.sciencedaily.comA tiny, hard-working bacterium -- which weighs one-trillionth of a gram -- may soon have a large influence on processing rare earth elements in an eco-friendly way.
"Traditional thermochemical methods for separating lanthanides are environmentally horrible," said Buz Barstow, assistant professor of biological and environmental engineering at Cornell, the corresponding author. "It's difficult to refine these elements. That's why we send rare earth elements offshore -- generally to China -- to process them."
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