Researchers Develop Coating Inspired by Bivalves to Sustainably Extract Rare Earth Elements
There is a dilemma surrounding rare earth elements (REE). They play a key role in clean energy - vital to the production of lightweight, efficient batteries, and essential components in wind turbines. However, conventional extraction of these elements raises environmental concerns of habitat destruction and pollution due to the high amount of energy needed to extract and process the elements.
To solve this problem, Penn State researchers found inspiration from the ocean – mussels. Mussels are naturally sticky, and by mimicking this natural glue, researchers developed a new mussel-inspired nanocellulose coating (MINC) that has demonstrated what they call a “remarkable, even surprising” ability to recover REEs from secondary sources such as industrial wastewater without using a high amount of energy.