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Berhe GG, Cheru MS. Hydrometallurgical assessment of oxides of Nb, Ta, Th and U from Ethiopian tantalite ore. Heliyon 2024; 10:e24870. [PMID: 38312623 PMCID: PMC10835297 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e24870] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2023] [Revised: 01/16/2024] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 02/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Tantalite ore is the main source of the metals niobium (Nb) and tantalum (Ta). Today, the needs for these economic and irreplaceable Nb, and Ta metals are becoming imperative for the technological world, to meet the demand, a lot of research is needed to ore reserves, extraction methodology and simplified refining processes should be in plethora. This study focuses on the Ethiopian tantalite ore located south of the Neoproterozoic Adola belt of the rare element Kenticha pegmatite deposit (global source of tantalite). Successive beneficiation of pegmatite ore results in a highest dissolution of 60.83 wt% of Ta2O5 with 4.58 wt% of Nb2O5 including the removal of U, Th, Ti, Fe and Si, resulting in a percentage low weight, which allows transporting ore concentrates. The concentrated ore is leached with a mixture of binary acids HF and H2SO4 with 6:1 ratio at temperatures from 100 to 400 °C. The filtered solution was extracted with MIBK then, precipitated with ammonium solution. The hydrometallurgy of Nb and Ta oxides is affected by leaching temperature and the presence of radioactive oxides of U and Th. Elemental analysis and surface topography were studied using SEM/EDS, revealing the highest percentage composition of Nb and Ta oxides at 200 °C of leaching temperature. Comparatively, the compositions of U and Th showed higher amounts at the leaching temperatures of 150 and 200 °C, and when the temperature reached about 350 and 400 °C, the percentage composition of U and Th became very low, the economic metals Nb and Ta were completely leached. The stability of the precipitated samples was analyzed using TGA-DTA and found to be thermally stable, and not contain significant moisture at each temperature studied. Studies for recovery of Ta, Nb, U and Th from Kenticha tantalite are required.
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Affiliation(s)
- Goitom Gebreyohannes Berhe
- Department of Chemistry, College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Mekelle University, PO Box 231, Mekelle, Ethiopia
| | - Mulugeta Sisay Cheru
- School of Materials Science and Engineering, Jimma Institute of Technology, Jimma University, PO Box 378, Jimma, Ethiopia
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da Costa RL, Souza IC, Morozesk M, de Carvalho LB, Carvalho CDS, Monferrán MV, Wunderlin DA, Fernandes MN, Monteiro DA. Toxic, genotoxic, mutagenic, and bioaccumulative effects of metal mixture from settleable particulate matter on American bullfrog tadpoles (Lithobates catesbeianus). Environ Pollut 2024; 340:122846. [PMID: 37926415 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122846] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2023] [Revised: 10/29/2023] [Accepted: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 11/07/2023]
Abstract
Amphibians are more susceptible to environmental stressors than other vertebrates due to their semipermeable skin and physiological adaptations to living in very specific microhabitats. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of a metal mixture from settleable particulate matter (SePM) released from metallurgical industries on Lithobates catesbeianus tadpoles. Endpoints analyzed included metal bioconcentration, morphological (biometrical indices), hematological parameters (hemoglobin and blood cell count), and erythrocyte DNA damage (genotoxicity and mutagenicity). American bullfrog tadpoles (Gosner's stage 25) were kept under control condition (no contaminant addition) or exposed to a sub-lethal and environmentally relevant concentration (1 g.L-1) of SePM for 96 h. Tadpoles exposed to SePM exhibited elevated whole blood levels of Fe56, AL, Sn, Pb, Zn, Cr, Cu, Ti, Rb, V, Ce, La, Ag, As. SePM-exposed tadpoles showed a significant decrease in condition factor (12%) and increases in hepatosomatic index (25%), hemoglobin concentration (17%), and total leukocytes (82%), thrombocytes (90%), and monocytes (78%) abundance. In addition, exposed tadpoles showed higher MN and ENAs (340 and 140%, respectively) frequencies, and erythrocyte DNA damage with approximately 1.2- to 1.8-fold increases in comet parameters. Taken together, these results suggest that the multimetal mixture found in SePM is potentially genotoxic and mutagenic to L. catesbeianus tadpoles, induces stress associated with hematological changes, and negatively affects growth. Although such contamination occurs at sublethal levels, regulatory standards are needed to control the emission of SePM and protect amphibian populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Regiane Luiza da Costa
- Departamento de Ciências Fisiológicas (DCF), Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde (CCBS), Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar), 13565-905, São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil; Programa de Pós-Graduação Em Ciências Ambientais (PPGCAm), Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde (CCBS), Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar), Brazil
| | - Iara Costa Souza
- Departamento de Ciências Fisiológicas (DCF), Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde (CCBS), Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar), 13565-905, São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Mariana Morozesk
- Departamento de Ciências Fisiológicas (DCF), Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde (CCBS), Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar), 13565-905, São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Luana Beserra de Carvalho
- Departamento de Ciências Fisiológicas (DCF), Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde (CCBS), Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar), 13565-905, São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil; Programa de Pós-Graduação Em Ciências Ambientais (PPGCAm), Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde (CCBS), Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar), 13565-905, São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Cleoni Dos Santos Carvalho
- Departamento de Biologia (DBio), Centro de Ciências Humanas e Biológicas (CCHB), Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar), 18052-780, São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Magdalena Victoria Monferrán
- ICYTAC, Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos Córdoba, CONICET and Dpto. Qca. Orgánica, Fac. Cs. Químicas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Ciudad Universitaria, 5000, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Daniel Alberto Wunderlin
- ICYTAC, Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de Alimentos Córdoba, CONICET and Dpto. Qca. Orgánica, Fac. Cs. Químicas, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Ciudad Universitaria, 5000, Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Marisa Narciso Fernandes
- Departamento de Ciências Fisiológicas (DCF), Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde (CCBS), Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar), 13565-905, São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Diana Amaral Monteiro
- Departamento de Ciências Fisiológicas (DCF), Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde (CCBS), Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCar), 13565-905, São Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil.
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Paper M, Jung P, Koch M, Lakatos M, Nilges T, Brück TB. Stripped: contribution of cyanobacterial extracellular polymeric substances to the adsorption of rare earth elements from aqueous solutions. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2023; 11:1299349. [PMID: 38173874 PMCID: PMC10762542 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2023.1299349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 12/01/2023] [Indexed: 01/05/2024] Open
Abstract
The transformation of modern industries towards enhanced sustainability is facilitated by green technologies that rely extensively on rare earth elements (REEs) such as cerium (Ce), neodymium (Nd), terbium (Tb), and lanthanum (La). The occurrence of productive mining sites, e.g., is limited, and production is often costly and environmentally harmful. As a consequence of increased utilization, REEs enter our ecosystem as industrial process water or wastewater and become highly diluted. Once diluted, they can hardly be recovered by conventional techniques, but using cyanobacterial biomass in a biosorption-based process is a promising eco-friendly approach. Cyanobacteria can produce extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) that show high affinity to metal cations. However, the adsorption of REEs by EPS has not been part of extensive research. Thus, we evaluated the role of EPS in the biosorption of Ce, Nd, Tb, and La for three terrestrial, heterocystous cyanobacterial strains. We cultivated them under N-limited and non-limited conditions and extracted their EPS for compositional analyses. Subsequently, we investigated the metal uptake of a) the extracted EPS, b) the biomass extracted from EPS, and c) the intact biomass with EPS by comparing the amount of sorbed REEs. Maximum adsorption capacities for the tested REEs of extracted EPS were 123.9-138.2 mg g-1 for Komarekiella sp. 89.12, 133.1-137.4 mg g-1 for Desmonostoc muscorum 90.03, and 103.5-129.3 mg g-1 for Nostoc sp. 20.02. A comparison of extracted biomass with intact biomass showed that 16% (Komarekiella sp. 89.12), 28% (Desmonostoc muscorum 90.03), and 41% (Nostoc sp. 20.02) of REE adsorption was due to the biosorption of the extracellular EPS. The glucose- rich EPS (15%-43% relative concentration) of all three strains grown under nitrogen-limited conditions showed significantly higher biosorption rates for all REEs. We also found a significantly higher maximum adsorption capacity of all REEs for the extracted EPS compared to cells without EPS and untreated biomass, highlighting the important role of the EPS as a binding site for REEs in the biosorption process. EPS from cyanobacteria could thus be used as efficient biosorbents in future applications for REE recycling, e.g., industrial process water and wastewater streams.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Paper
- Werner Siemens-Chair of Synthetic Biotechnology, Department of Chemistry, School of Natural Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Garching, Germany
| | - Patrick Jung
- Integrative Biotechnology, University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern, Pirmasens, Germany
| | - Max Koch
- Synthesis and Characterization of Innovative Materials, Department of Chemistry, School of Natural Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Garching, Germany
| | - Michael Lakatos
- Integrative Biotechnology, University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern, Pirmasens, Germany
| | - Tom Nilges
- Synthesis and Characterization of Innovative Materials, Department of Chemistry, School of Natural Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Garching, Germany
| | - Thomas B. Brück
- Werner Siemens-Chair of Synthetic Biotechnology, Department of Chemistry, School of Natural Sciences, Technical University of Munich, Garching, Germany
- Department of Aerospace and Geodesy, TUM AlgaeTec Center, Ludwig Bölkow Campus, Taufkirchen, Germany
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Xiao W, Zhou L, Yang P, Yan N, Wei C. An international comparative study of rare earth research from the perspective of bibliometrics. Heliyon 2023; 9:e16075. [PMID: 37206007 PMCID: PMC10189500 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e16075] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2023] [Revised: 05/01/2023] [Accepted: 05/04/2023] [Indexed: 05/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Rare earth refers to a type of strategic resource. Countries worldwide have invested considerable money in relevant research. This bibliometric study was to evaluate the global situation of published rare earth research to discover rare earth research strategies in a wide range of countries. In this study, 50,149 SCI papers related to rare earth were collected. In addition, we divided the above papers into 11 main research fields according to discipline and keyword clustering, and divided the above theoretical cultures into different industry fields according to the keywords of the above papers. After that, the research directions, research institutions, funding, and other aspects of rare earth research in numerous countries were compared. The result of this study suggests that China's rare earth research has been generally in the leading position worldwide, whereas there are still some problems in the discipline layout, strategic strategies, green development, and fund support. Other countries place a greater focus on areas regarding national security strategies (e.g., mineral exploration, smelting, and permanent magnetism).
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Basque J, Lavoie J, Reynier N, Larivière D. Quantitative Separation of Thorium from Rare Earth Elements and Uranium in a Rare Earth Element Sulfuric Acid Leachate Using Cloud Point Extraction. Microchem J 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.microc.2023.108724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/08/2023]
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Fekete-Kertész I, Stirling T, Vaszita E, Berkl Z, Farkas É, Hedwig S, Remmen K, Lenz M, Molnár M, Feigl V. Ecotoxicity attenuation by acid-resistant nanofiltration in scandium recovery from TiO 2 production waste. Heliyon 2023; 9:e15512. [PMID: 37128350 PMCID: PMC10148044 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e15512] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2023] [Revised: 04/11/2023] [Accepted: 04/12/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023] Open
Abstract
The lack of high-grade scandium (Sc) ores and recovery strategies has stimulated research on the exploitation of non-ore-related secondary sources that have great potential to safeguard the critical raw materials supply of the EU's economy. Waste materials may satisfy the growing global Sc demand, specifically residues from titanium dioxide (TiO2) production. New technologies are being developed for the recovery of Sc from such residues; however, the possible environmental impacts of intermediary products and residues are usually not considered. In order to provide a comprehensive ecotoxicity characterisation of the wastes and intermediate residues resulting from one promising new technology, acid-resistant nanofiltration (arNF), a waste-specific ecotoxicity toolkit was established. Three ecotoxicity assays were selected with specific test parameters providing the most diverse outcome for toxicity characterisation at different trophic levels: Aliivibrio fischeri (bacteria) bioluminescence inhibition (30 min exposure), Daphnia magna (crustacean) lethality and immobilisation (24 h exposure) and Lemna minor (plant) growth inhibition with determination of the frond number (7 d exposure). According to our results, the environmental impact of the generated intermediate and final residues on the aquatic ecosystem was mitigated by the consecutive steps of the filtration methods applied. High and statistically significant toxicity attenuation was achieved according to each test organism: toxicity was lowered based on EC20 values, according to the A. fischeri bioluminescence inhibition assay (by 97%), D. magna lethality (by 99%) and L. minor frond number (by 100%), respectively, after the final filtration step, nanofiltration, in comparison to the original waste. Our results underline the importance of assessing chemical technologies' ecotoxicological and environmental impacts with easy-to-apply and cost-effective test methods to showcase the best available technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ildikó Fekete-Kertész
- Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Department of Applied Biotechnology and Food Science, H-1111 Budapest, Műegyetem rkp. 3, Hungary
| | - Tamás Stirling
- Institute of Biochemistry, Szeged Biological Research Centre, 6726 Szeged, Hungary
- University of Szeged, 6726 Szeged, Hungary
| | - Emese Vaszita
- Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Department of Applied Biotechnology and Food Science, H-1111 Budapest, Műegyetem rkp. 3, Hungary
| | - Zsófia Berkl
- Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Department of Applied Biotechnology and Food Science, H-1111 Budapest, Műegyetem rkp. 3, Hungary
| | - Éva Farkas
- Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Department of Applied Biotechnology and Food Science, H-1111 Budapest, Műegyetem rkp. 3, Hungary
- Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO), Division of Environment and Natural Resources, Høgskoleveien 7, 1432 Ås, Norway
| | - Sebastian Hedwig
- Institute for Ecopreneurship, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, School of Life Sciences, 4132, Muttenz, Switzerland
| | - Kirsten Remmen
- Institute for Ecopreneurship, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, School of Life Sciences, 4132, Muttenz, Switzerland
| | - Markus Lenz
- Institute for Ecopreneurship, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, School of Life Sciences, 4132, Muttenz, Switzerland
- Sub-Department of Environmental Technology, Wageningen University, 6700 AA, Wageningen, the Netherlands
- Corresponding author. Institute for Ecopreneurship, University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, School of Life Sciences, 4132, Muttenz, Switzerland.
| | - Mónika Molnár
- Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Department of Applied Biotechnology and Food Science, H-1111 Budapest, Műegyetem rkp. 3, Hungary
| | - Viktória Feigl
- Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Department of Applied Biotechnology and Food Science, H-1111 Budapest, Műegyetem rkp. 3, Hungary
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