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Microalgae for the Extraction and Separation of Rare Earths : An STXM Study of Ce, Gd, and P

Plouviez, Maxence ; Guieysse, Benoit ; Wolmarans, Karla ; Matinong, Andrea Marie E. ; Buwalda, Olivia ; Thånell, Karina LU ; Beinik, Igor LU orcid ; Tuyishime, J. R.Marius LU ; Mitchell, Valerie and Kappen, Peter , et al. (2024) In ACS Sustainable Resource Management 1(4). p.2225-2233
Abstract

Rare earth elements (lanthanides) are critical materials for many applications, particularly those involved in new energy. Extracting these elements economically from low-concentration sources may be challenging. This study investigates the interaction of Ce and Gd with microalgae that have been triggered to form phosphate-rich granules. Lanthanides usually occur in nature as phosphates, and therefore, we hypothesized that phosphate accumulation in microalgae may facilitate lanthanide sequestration. Synchrotron-based scanning transmission X-ray microspectroscopy (STXM) was used to map the distribution of Gd, Ce, and P in and around cells of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. STXM provided X-ray absorption (XAS) spectra at the Gd... (More)

Rare earth elements (lanthanides) are critical materials for many applications, particularly those involved in new energy. Extracting these elements economically from low-concentration sources may be challenging. This study investigates the interaction of Ce and Gd with microalgae that have been triggered to form phosphate-rich granules. Lanthanides usually occur in nature as phosphates, and therefore, we hypothesized that phosphate accumulation in microalgae may facilitate lanthanide sequestration. Synchrotron-based scanning transmission X-ray microspectroscopy (STXM) was used to map the distribution of Gd, Ce, and P in and around cells of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. STXM provided X-ray absorption (XAS) spectra at the Gd M4,5-edge, the Ce M4,5-edge, and the P K-edge, supported by bulk X-ray absorption spectroscopy at another beamline, and elemental maps from scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectroscopy (SEM/EDS). Gd was associated with P in polyphosphate granules within C. reinhardtii and with P outside the cells. Ce was associated with P outside the microalgal cells but not with the P granules inside the cells. Gd and Ce were found to react with phosphate to form a distinct compound apparent in X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES) of bulk samples. However, this compound is not found in the P granules that are coincident with Gd inside the alga. These differences in uptake by the microalga between Ce and Gd may suggest a selective extraction technique and could be generalized to other rare earth elements that are otherwise hard to separate.

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type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Ce M5-edge, cerium, gadolinium, Gd M5-edge, Lanthanide, P K-edge, phosphorus, XAFS, XAS
in
ACS Sustainable Resource Management
volume
1
issue
4
pages
9 pages
external identifiers
  • scopus:105022022513
DOI
10.1021/acssusresmgt.4c00237
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
e97aad4e-09c5-4c1a-be13-21ea8301e9a6
date added to LUP
2026-02-10 09:43:47
date last changed
2026-02-10 09:44:51
@article{e97aad4e-09c5-4c1a-be13-21ea8301e9a6,
  abstract     = {{<p>Rare earth elements (lanthanides) are critical materials for many applications, particularly those involved in new energy. Extracting these elements economically from low-concentration sources may be challenging. This study investigates the interaction of Ce and Gd with microalgae that have been triggered to form phosphate-rich granules. Lanthanides usually occur in nature as phosphates, and therefore, we hypothesized that phosphate accumulation in microalgae may facilitate lanthanide sequestration. Synchrotron-based scanning transmission X-ray microspectroscopy (STXM) was used to map the distribution of Gd, Ce, and P in and around cells of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. STXM provided X-ray absorption (XAS) spectra at the Gd M<sub>4,5</sub>-edge, the Ce M<sub>4,5</sub>-edge, and the P K-edge, supported by bulk X-ray absorption spectroscopy at another beamline, and elemental maps from scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive spectroscopy (SEM/EDS). Gd was associated with P in polyphosphate granules within C. reinhardtii and with P outside the cells. Ce was associated with P outside the microalgal cells but not with the P granules inside the cells. Gd and Ce were found to react with phosphate to form a distinct compound apparent in X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES) of bulk samples. However, this compound is not found in the P granules that are coincident with Gd inside the alga. These differences in uptake by the microalga between Ce and Gd may suggest a selective extraction technique and could be generalized to other rare earth elements that are otherwise hard to separate.</p>}},
  author       = {{Plouviez, Maxence and Guieysse, Benoit and Wolmarans, Karla and Matinong, Andrea Marie E. and Buwalda, Olivia and Thånell, Karina and Beinik, Igor and Tuyishime, J. R.Marius and Mitchell, Valerie and Kappen, Peter and Flynn, David and Jauffrais, Thierry and Haverkamp, Richard G.}},
  keywords     = {{Ce M5-edge; cerium; gadolinium; Gd M5-edge; Lanthanide; P K-edge; phosphorus; XAFS; XAS}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{4}},
  pages        = {{2225--2233}},
  series       = {{ACS Sustainable Resource Management}},
  title        = {{Microalgae for the Extraction and Separation of Rare Earths : An STXM Study of Ce, Gd, and P}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/acssusresmgt.4c00237}},
  doi          = {{10.1021/acssusresmgt.4c00237}},
  volume       = {{1}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}