Engineering Biology Hub for environmental processing and recovery of metals; from contaminated land to industrial biotechnology in a circular economy

金属环境加工和回收工程生物学任务中心(Elemental)旨在解决清洁能源技术中对关键矿物和金属日益增长的需求，并促进循环经济。该项目汇集了英国各机构的专家，建立了一个开放的知识中心，专注于金属的生物提取和生物回收。该中心旨在通过利用工程生物学工具和方法，加强与矿物开采、城市采矿、工业废物和核废物相关的正在进行的项目。该项目强调了可持续和有效的解决办法的重要性，以应对与金属废料和稀缺性有关的环境挑战。稀土元素(REE)、钴、锂和铟等技术关键金属由于可获得性有限以及它们的提取造成的环境破坏，构成了巨大的挑战。回收这些金属对于减少对初级采矿的需求和最大限度地减少对环境的影响至关重要。该中心侧重于有针对性的方法，如生物浸出、生物修复和生物回收，以解决金属废物、稀土和放射性核素废物以及金属稀缺性问题。生物浸出使用微生物从各种来源回收金属，而生物修复使用微生物或植物从受污染的水和土地中去除金属。该项目还探索了植物挖掘的潜力，即某些植物从土壤中自然积累金属和稀土。工程生物学，包括基因工程和合成生物学的结合，为提高参与金属回收过程的微生物和植物的能力提供了机会。通过优化金属运输器和开发遗传电路，该项目旨在改善金属积累，开发用于实时监测的生物传感器，并加强金属生物修复和回收实践。该项目承认与工艺优化、可伸缩性、经济可行性和环境影响评估相关的挑战。将采用多学科方法来制定改进金属回收的战略，并应对社会、经济和环境挑战。该中心将与政策制定者和利益攸关方密切合作，制定在循环经济框架内使用工程生物进行金属修复的政策建议和指导方针。该项目的目标将通过六个工作包实现，这些工作包侧重于生物浸出、生物回收、工业生物技术、生物传感器、生物修复、扩大规模、技术经济分析和生命周期评估。中心成员拥有合成生物学、蛋白质设计、生物地球化学、金属运输、负责任的研究和创新以及植物修复方面的专业知识。中心内的工程生物学方法遵循设计-建造-测试循环，以优化用于金属回收应用的工程系统。基因技术，包括大规模平行转座子突变，将被用于识别与金属耐受性有关的基因，并开发突变体库。此外，EPR光谱、核磁共振、电子显微镜和XAS等物理技术将提供对金属与生物系统的形态和相互作用的分子洞察。通过利用基于合成生物学的系统和跨学科合作，元素中心旨在彻底改变金属生物修复和回收做法，为更清洁和更可持续的环境做出贡献。

The Engineering Biology Mission Hub for Environmental Processing and Recovery of Metals (ELEMENTAL) aims to address the growing need for critical minerals and metals in clean energy technologies and promote a circular economy. The project brings together specialists from various UK institutions to establish an open knowledge hub focused on bio-extraction and bio-recovery of metals. The hub aims to enhance ongoing projects related to mineral extraction, urban mining, industrial waste, and nuclear waste by leveraging engineering biology tools and approaches. The project emphasizes the importance of sustainable and efficient solutions to tackle environmental challenges associated with metal waste and scarcity. Technologically critical metals, such as rare earth elements (REEs), cobalt, lithium, and indium, pose significant challenges due to their limited availability and the environmental damage caused by their extraction. Recycling these metals is crucial for reducing the demand for primary mining and minimizing environmental impacts.The hub focuses on targeted approaches such as bioleaching, bioremediation, and biorecovery to address metal waste, REE and radionuclide waste, and metal scarcity. Bioleaching uses microorganisms to recover metals from various sources, while bioremediation employs microorganisms or plants to remove metals from polluted water and land. The project also explores the potential of phytomining, where certain plants naturally accumulate metals and REEs from the soil. The integration of engineering biology, including genetic engineering and synthetic biology, offers opportunities to enhance the capabilities of microorganisms and plants involved in metal recovery processes. By optimizing metal transporters and developing genetic circuits, the project aims to improve metal accumulation, develop biosensors for real-time monitoring, and enhance metal bioremediation and recovery practices.The project acknowledges challenges related to process optimization, scalability, economic viability, and environmental impact assessments. A multidisciplinary approach will be employed to develop strategies for improved metal recovery and address social, economic, and environmental challenges. The hub will work closely with policymakers and stakeholders to develop policy recommendations and guidelines for the use of engineered organisms in metal remediation within a circular economy framework. The project's objectives will be realized through six work packages focused on bioleaching, biorecovery, industrial biotechnology, biosensors, bioremediation, and scale-up, techno-economic analysis, and life cycle assessment. The hub members possess expertise in synthetic biology, protein design, biogeochemistry, metal transporters, responsible research and innovation, and phytoremediation.The engineering biology approach within the hub follows a design-build-test cycle to optimize engineered systems for metal recovery applications. Genetic techniques, including massively parallel transposon mutagenesis, will be used to identify genes involved in metal tolerance and develop mutant libraries. Additionally, physical techniques such as EPR spectroscopy, NMR, electron microscopy, and XAS will provide molecular insights into the speciation and interaction of metals with biological systems. By harnessing synthetic biology-based systems and interdisciplinary collaborations, the ELEMENTAL hub aims to revolutionize metal bioremediation and recovery practices, contributing to a cleaner and more sustainable environment.