A green method based on living macroalgae for the removal of rare-earth elements from contaminated waters

JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

卷:263

Article

Pinto, Joao^1,2  Henriques, Bruno^1,3,4  Soares, Jose¹  Costa, Marcelo¹  Dias, Mariana¹  Fabre, Elaine^1,2,3  Lopes, Claudia B.^1,2  Vale, Carlos⁵  Pinheiro-Torres, Jose⁶  Pereira, Eduarda^1,3,4 

[1] Univ Aveiro, Dept Chem, Aveiro, Portugal

[2] Univ Aveiro, CICECO Aveiro Inst Mat, Aveiro, Portugal

[3] Univ Aveiro, CESAM Ctr Environm & Marine Studies, Aveiro, Portugal

[4] Univ Aveiro, LAQV REQUIMTE Associated Lab Green Chem, Aveiro, Portugal

[5] CIIMAR Interdisciplinary Ctr Marine & Environm Re, Matosinhos, Portugal

[6] N9VE Nat Ocean & Value Lda, Porto, Portugal

关键词: Gracilaria sp.;    Ulva lactuca;    Rare earth elements;    Recycling;    Bioaccumulation;    Water treatment;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110376

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Low recycling rates of rare earth elements (REEs) are a consequence of inefficient, expensive and/or contaminating methods currently available for their extraction from solid wastes or from liquid wastes such as acid mine drainage or industrial wastewaters. The search for sustainable recovery alternatives was the motivation for this study. For the first time, the capabilities of 6 living macroalgae (Ulva lactuca, Ulva intestinalis, Fucus spiralis, Fucus vesiculosus, Osmundea pinnatifida and Gracilaria sp.) to remove REEs (Y, La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy) from laboratory-prepared seawater spiked with REE solutions were evaluated. The assays lasted 72 h with REEs concentrations ranging from 10 to 500 mu g L-1. The link between REEs uptake and algal metabolism, surface morphology and chemistry were addressed. Kinetics varied among the species, although most of the removal occurred in the first 24 h, with no equilibrium being reached. Lack of mortality reveal that the algae maintained their metabolism in the presence of the REEs. Green alga U. lactuca stood out as the only capable of efficiently removing at least 60% of all elements, reaching removals up to 90% in some cases. The high bioconcentration factors, derived from mass balance analysis (c.a. 2500) support that the REEs enriched algal biomass (up to 1295 mu g g(-1)) may constitute an effective and environmentally friendly alternative source of REEs to conventional extraction from ores.

【 授权许可】

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