An international team of researchers, led by microbiologist Martyna Glodowska from Radboud University, will use microorganisms to recover scarce metals from electronic waste. The research team is receiving a grant of up to ¤1.5 million from the SPRIN-D Tech Metal Transformation Challenge for their BioXtract project. They have one year to demonstrate the feasibility of this biogeochemical recycling method.
Critical raw materials and metals, such as heavy and light rare earth elements, are essential in our modern society: we use them in electronics, renewable energy, high tech applications, aerospace, and modern manufacturing processes. These raw materials come from a limited number of countries and have a very low recycling rate.
Recovering metals
The BioXtract research team aims to recover these metals from various waste streams, among others e-waste. To do this, they plan to use micro-organisms and biogeochemical processes. "In our project, BioXtract, we harness the biogeochemical processes that have shaped the Earth’s metal cycles for millions of years," explains microbiologist Martyna Glodowska. "Our approach works the same way as in natural systems, but we accelerate and control it for industrial application."
All of this happens in a controlled, step-by-step manner. "First, we use redox active micro-organisms to release metals from complex waste materials. Next, we apply (bio)sorption mechanisms: binding dissolved metals to minerals or organic material. Finally, we use specific nature-inspired biogeochemical processes to release the individual metals one by one and separate them ," Glodowska says.
From fundamental research to application
To carry out all these steps, Glodowska collaborates with an international and interdisciplinary team of researchers specializing in geomicrobiology, geochemistry, mineralogy, geology, and modelling.
"This interdisciplinary background is essential for the BioXtract project," says Glodowska. "Each team member is responsible for specific tasks and experimental workflows, allowing us to perform multiple activities simultaneously and make optimal use of our complementary expertise. Within the one year timeframe, we aim to demonstrate that biogeochemically driven metal recovery can be both technically effective and economically viable."
In this way, the project contributes both to understanding the behaviour of metals in the environment and to actively applying these principles to recover critical and technologically important metals in a sustainable and efficient manner.
"Through this challenge, we aim to develop an approach that is not only efficient, but also environmentally friendly and sustainable, operating with low energy demand and minimal chemical input. Ultimately, we hope to show that our strategy can contribute meaningfully to Europe’s transition toward a circular and green economy, by turning waste streams into valuable resources while reducing environmental impact."
About Martyna Glodowka
Martyna Glodowska is an assistant professor in RIBES’ Microbiology department. Her research focuses on the biogeochemical cycling of metals and carbon, with particular emphasis on redox-active microorganisms that use metals as part of their metabolism. She has studied how microbial activity controls the transformation, mobility, and stability of metals and metalloids in natural systems - processes that ultimately govern how metals move through soils, waters, and rocks.
