Rare Earth and Critical Minerals Extraction Using Biochar

This research focuses on using biochar for the extraction of rare earth minerals (REEs) and critical minerals from acid mine drainage. These elements have no current domestic supply chain and yet an opportunity exists to selectively extract them from legacy mine sites, i.e., acid mine drainage. Biochar, like activated carbon, provides high surface area for adsorption and unlike fossil fuel derived activated carbon, biochar could provide a sustainable route to REE and critical minerals recovery. My research had been focused on reproducing the previously obtained results and deriving the kinetic constants of biochar adsorption for La³⁺ uptake. I am currently looking at the effects that REE adsorption and microwave regeneration has on the structure of biochar. In the future, I plan to look at the kinetic data and create a fixed bed system for adsorption and regeneration.