SBIR Phase I: A clean, biological solution to sustainable energy’s rare earth problem

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第一阶段项目的更广泛/商业影响是通过开发清洁、可持续的稀土提取和生物提纯系统来减少稀土生产对环境的负面影响。这样的系统将允许在美国进行负担得起的、低影响的稀土生产，这反过来将减少对稀土进口的依赖，缓解重大供应风险和对国家安全的担忧。稀土对制造许多现代电子和可持续能源技术至关重要，包括电动马达和风力涡轮机、固态照明、电池阳极、高温超导体和高强度轻质合金。这类申请正在增加对全球稀土供应的需求，由于环境法规和劳动力的成本，全球稀土供应主要受控于美国以外的地区。如今几乎所有的稀土生产都来自矿石开采，这本身就会对环境造成损害，将无法满足日益增长的稀土需求。为了弥合供需缺口，减轻采矿的影响，将从各种废物和寿命结束的来源中回收稀土，促进循环经济。从二次资源中回收稀土将创造新的就业机会，特别是开发新的基础设施来收集和处理含稀土物质。SBIR第一阶段项目的成果是一个端到端的稀土回收生物系统，可以取代从来源到市场的最具环境破坏性的步骤，包括生物提取、选择和分离稀土。每一步都使用微生物，可以实现更清洁的过程，并对基因组进行优化，以便快速定制各种稀土原料。利用优化的微生物菌株生产的可生物降解的浸出剂进行稀土的生物提取。生物选择是通过将稀土特定的配体固定在合成的生物基质中进行的。最后，生物分离是通过将不同的稀土选择性地吸附和解吸到工程化的细菌膜上来完成的，这些膜结合了具有不同亲和力的特定稀土。基因定制是通过全面确定潜在的感兴趣的性状的遗传要素，然后纳入基因工程以优化整个商业过程而实现的。在该项目的第一阶段，努力的重点是确定对效率最有贡献的变量，以及驱动这些变量的遗传机制。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is to reduce the negative environmental impacts of rare earth element (REE) production through the development of a clean, sustainable system for REE extraction and purification using biology. Such a system would allow for affordable, low-impact REE production in the United States which, in turn, would reduce dependence on REE imports, alleviating a significant supply risk and concerns for national security. REEs are critical for manufacturing many modern electronics and sustainable energy technologies, including electric motors and wind turbine generators, solid state lighting, battery anodes, high-temperature superconductors, and high-strength lightweight alloys. Such applications are increasing demands on the global REE supply, which is predominantly controlled outside of the United States due to the cost of environmental regulations and labor. Nearly all REE production today comes from mining ore, which can cause its own environmental detriment, and will not be able to meet the rising demand for REEs. To bridge the gap between supply and demand, and attenuate the impacts of mining, REEs will be recovered from various waste and end-of-life sources, promoting a circular economy. The recovery of REEs from secondary sources would create new jobs, especially with the development of new infrastructure for the collection and pre-processing of REE-containing materials.The output of this SBIR Phase I project is an end-to-end biological system for REE recovery that can replace the most environmentally damaging steps from source to market, including bio-extraction, selection, and separation of REEs. The use of microorganisms for each step allows for a much cleaner process, and genomic optimization for rapid customization to a variety of REE feedstocks. REE bio-extraction is done with biodegradable lixiviant produced by optimized microbial strains. Bio-selection is done with REE-specific ligands immobilized in a synthetic biological matrix. Finally, bio-separations are done through the selective sorption and desorption of different REEs to engineered bacterial membranes in columns that bind specific REEs with different affinities. Genetic customization is enabled through comprehensive identification of the genetic elements underlying a trait of interest, followed by incorporation of genetic engineering for optimization of the overall commercial process. In Phase I of the project, efforts are focused on the identification of the variables that most contribute to efficiency, as well as the genetic mechanisms driving those variables.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.