Application of low-cost alginate-based biosorbents for effective recovery of rare earth elements

Abstract

Rare earth elements are used in many high-tech applications but their rarity and availability require the development of methods for their recovery from low-quality sources and recycling from waste materials. Sorption processes, including biosorbents, are an interesting method for their recovery from dilute solutions. This work investigates the sorption of lanthanum(III) ions using cheap, renewable biosorbents: calcium alginate and biochar (considered as reference materials) and an alginatebased biosorbent named alginate-biochar composite (ALG-BC). Sorption properties of these materials were compared using batch-adsorption techniques, under various sorption conditions. The obtained sorption results show the applicability of the biosorbents for rare earth elements recovery.