Team:Bonn-Rheinbach/Human Practices
Social
Human Practices
Communication about the benefits of our project and integration of advice from experts into the project
BioLan is a project that not only includes the fields of chemistry, biology, and geology. It is a project in which it becomes clear that an exchange between experts from various fields is necessary to create a rethinking towards more sustainability and environmental protection. Human practice is an incentive to tackle this global issue on even small levels to find a joint, promising solution through discussions and advice.
First steps:
At a shark tank meeting, we presented our project ideas to our mentor Professor Sieber, several professors from the university (from the faculty of microbiology), and various people from the economic area. Together we decided on the project BioLan, as it was viewed as future-proof and up-to-date. The protein lanmodulin was only recently discovered and with the help of the first papers describing it, we created a laboratory plan.
Project planning and implementation:
During the project development and numerous research, we came across some topics that point out reasons for the implementation of BioLan.
1) Technical applications: Lanthanides are used in many devices that are used on a daily basis, e.g. Computer memory, DVDs, rechargeable batteries, mobile phones, catalytic converters, magnets and fluorescent lamps. They can also be found in the semiconductor elements of solar cells, in magnets in wind turbines and in the electric motors of e-vehicles.
2) Medical applications: Because of the unique luminescence and magnetic properties lanthanides are also important in the medical field . Therefore they are used for multimodal bioimaging including fluorescence and electron microscopy. Also the capability for transporting biomaterials and drugs make them superior agents in the field of nanomedicine . They are significant in cancer therapy, theranostics, optogenetics and they act as hypophosphatemic agents for kidney dialysis patients, and MRI contrast agents.
3) Mining conditions: The extraction of lanthanides is mostly done under poor working conditions with low wages. It’s one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. Cave-ins, explosions, toxic air and extreme temperature are some of the most perilous hazards observed to take place in underground mining . Also it happens under exposure to acid drainage which causes chemical burns and severe lung damage . Another argument against the current extraction method is the water pollution, which poisons the nearby villages and farms . Furthermore, because of containing actinides, radioactive byproducts are formed during REE-mining . Therefore it is important to improve the process which is possible by using LanM.
Contacting experts from different areas of science and industry.
Prof. Dr. Wulf Amelung
Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conversations, Division Soll Science, University of Bonn. More Information
Expertise: sustainable production of renewable raw materials, biogeochemical cycling of nutrients, environmental risks arising from the use of priority pollutants.
Expert support: organisation of ICP capacity (contact to Mr. Henning Schröder).
Affects on our project: use of suitable technical devices (ICP).
Prof. Dr. Martin Sieber
Institute for Functional Gene Analytics, Professor for Clinical Research, Hochschule-Bonn-Rhein-Sieg HBRS. More Information
Expertise:clinical research, microbiome research.
Expert support: supervision, mentoring of practical and organizational matters.
Affects on our project: decision-making support on BioLan, support in different areas e.g. laboratory, finance; arranging contacts.
Dr. Farahnaz Daliran
Mineralogist, Institute of Applied Geosciences, Karlsruher Institute of Technology KIT. More Information
Expertise: F-P-REE(U) deposits in Bafq District, Iran; Daliranite.
Expert support: organization of receiving monazite samples.
Affects on our project: implementation of our own workflow encompassing the whole lanthanide extraction process.
Prof. Dr. Uwe Deppenmeier
Institute of Microbiology and Biotechnology, University of Bonn. More Information
Expertise: mechanisms of energy conservation in methanogenic archaea, production of prebiotics, physiology and biochemistry of the major players of the human gut microbiome.
Expert support: provision of laboratory and laboratory material.
Affects on our project: practical implementation of BioLan (WetLab).
Dr. Daniel Harlov
Research scientist GeoForschungszentrum GFZ Helmholtz-Forschungszentrum Potsdam. More Information
Expertise: metasomatic alteration of REE-bearing minerals e.g. monazites; petrographic, mineralogical, and geochemical studies on ore deposits dominated by monazites; function and stability of accessory REE- and actinide-bearing minerals.
Expert support: organization of receiving monazite samples, answering general questions about REEs.
Affects on our project: implementation of our own workflow encompassing the whole lanthanide extraction process.
Prof. Dr. Claudia Knief
Institute of Crop Science and Resource Conservation INRES, Molecular Biology of the Rhizosphere. More Information
Expertise:analysis of microbial communities living in association with plants and in soil; ecology and physiology of methylotrophic bacteria.
Expert support: information about gDNA from Methylorobrum extorquen.
Affects on our project: practical amplification of LanM with the help of gDNA.
Interdisciplinary outlook: Use in the future. Conversations with experts to discuss the application areas of BioLan in the future.
Prof. Dr. Lena Daumann
Department of Chemistry, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich (LMU Munich). More Information
Expertise: Biochemistry of lanthanides.
Expert support: feedback, future opportunities, and applications of BioLan.
Interview: When we presented our project to Ms. Daumann, she really liked the fact that the protein Lanmodulin can be reused in our process, but one should try to develop a continuous cycle for industrial application. Also she thought that there could be problems when it comes to upscaling.
She praised our new purification method as it works with simple pH and temperature changes. If one were to use our method for mining, the problem of highly concentrated radioactive waste would remain.
Therefore, her proposal would be to use Lanmodulin with its high affinity especially in alternative sources such as sewage or production waste. That is because with our method and Lanmodulin even the smallest traces can be obtained. In addition, one could save energy with such sources due to the pre-cleaning that has already taken place.
Other possible uses would be the recycling of eWaste and the recovery of the faeces from piglets that are fed Lancer, which consists of lanthanum and cerium, to boost growth.
Interview: Dr. Sauer explained that the lanthanides make up to 80% of the rare earth elements, and are used in computer chips, but the greatest need lies in the permanent magnets of the electric motors in e-vehicles. According to his information, 80% of new car sales in Germany would be e-vehicles in 2030, then there would be between eight and ten million e-vehicles.
At the moment one is also working on alternatives that require fewer REEs, but that is not due to the poor functioning of the current technology, but to the increasing scarcity and the associated increase in costs. The main energy generation technologies in the future would be wind turbines and photovoltaics, in which small amounts of REEs are also required. However, much more important is the proportion of REEs that is required in the e-mobility industry.
He thinks that our project could have potential because the method developed could be used to tap new sources. Especially in regions in which the REEs currently contain too low concentrations, so that now the degradation would not be worthwhile. This would lead to diversification of the sources, which could arouse great macroeconomic interest in politics and in the automobile industry.
Prof. Dr. Dirk Uwe Sauer
Institute for Power Electronics and Electrical Drives, RWTH Aachen. More Information
Expertise: Electrochemical Energy Conversion and Storage Systems.
Expert support: use of lanthanides in batteries, e-cars, solar cells and wind turbines; feedback and future opportunities of BioLan.
Ms. Sandra Gois and Mr. Bernhard Hagemann
Axians eWaste: Waste management, transformation of processes along the disposal chain. More Information
Expertise: optimizing recycling cycles and processes.
Expert support: future prospects of Lanmodulin in terms of recycling.
Interview: From the conversation with Mr. Hagemann and Ms. Gois, it quickly emerged that the topic of recycling and return to material cycles will become even more important in the coming years. In particular, Mr. Hagemann pointed out that when manufacturing devices, one should also think about how the individual components can be separated from one another effectively, quickly and as energy-efficiently as possible. Therefore it is not only important to develop better recycling processes, but also to consider during production that as many of the substances as possible can be returned to their separate material cycles.
In his opinion, rare earths are not recycled enough, so that the circular economy must also be promoted for the rare earths. BioLan could contribute precisely to this circular economy. Otherwise in a few years, there will be no other options than using suitable substituents with similar properties. In addition, new developments cannot keep up with the rapid digitization process, as the development of new substituents and methods also takes a lot of time.
Mr. Hagemann emphasized that there will be a need for closer integration of industry and disposal in the future in order to recycle and not lose the ever-increasing amounts of electronic waste. Often the current progress of exploitation includes simply burning the devices, so after all the rare earths would disappear with them.
After we presented our BioLan project, Mr. Hagemann and Mrs. Gois agreed that our method would have potential in the industry due to its gentle extraction, as soon as it could be applied to large quantities.
written by Luca Rösler and Nelly Braun