Biotechnology for the creation of sustainable raw materials value chains
H2020 BIORECOVER project, led by CETIM, which has held a webinars series presenting new techniques that can improve the extraction processes of critical raw materials.
Webinar held in the framework of the BIORECOVER project.
Critical raw materials (CRMs) are indispensable to produce many goods we use every day and for energetic transition in the European Union. Due to its scarcity, its economic importance and the high costs that an interruption of CRMs supply would entail, CETIM has been committed for years to the recovery of this resources, featured as well in different types of waste, such as mining industry tailings, electrical batteries and solar panels, among others.
Following this aim, we coordinate the H2020 BIORECOVER project, where we research critical raw materials sustainable recovery from different types of waste, in collaboration with 14 partners from multiple disciplines, involving six European Union countries and with the international cooperation of South Africa.
In the framework of this project, a series of webinars have been organised to disseminate innovative and transformative tools and strategies that can improve the sustainability of Europe’s raw material value chains. The European projects ION4RAW, EIS, AfricaMaVal and SCRREEN have collaborated by sharing their experience and setting out the new challenges we face as a society in this field.
Conferences addressed topics such as Europe’s need of diversifying its supply chain and engage in strategic partnerships with resource-rich third countries, how to improve critical raw material extraction sustainability and the investigation of untapped European reserves.
In detail
In the Horizon 2020 BIORECOVER project, CETIM is developing an innovative, mainly biotechnological, sustainable and safe process as an alternative for the selective extraction of a wide range of critical recovered raw materials from both primary and secondary sources, such as waste from the production of catalysts for platinum recovery, magnesium ore or platinum mining waste, and bauxite waste. The latter is the main source of alumina, the precursor of aluminium, and is composed of aluminium hydroxides usually accompanied by small amounts of different minerals, for example clay. One of the objectives of the project is to make use of this type of bauxite waste through the extraction of rare earths.
Descriptive graph of the project’s research.
The consortium, led by CETIM Technological Centre, is made up of 14 key partners from the sector covering the entire value chain, which represents a great alliance that will help to boost scientific and technical knowledge regarding the extraction of critical raw materials from sources that are not exploited today. BIORECOVER involves five research organisations (University of Copenhagen, University of Coimbra, Linnaeus University, University of Witwatersrand and the Bioprocess Engineering Research Centre of the University of Johannesburg), an important business network (MYTILINEOS SA, Magnesitas de Navarra, Técnicas Reunidas, Johnson Matthey and FAE Francisco Albero) and three SMEs (ENSO Innovation, LGI and Algaenergy).
Critical raw materials are a great challenge for today’s society due to their high demand for their use in the energy transition. Data shows that need for critical raw materials continues to increase, thus posing a problem for the procurement of these materials. For this reason, it is necessary to create a sustainable supply with innovative CRMs extraction processes and techniques that extensively exploit untapped raw material sources with great potential in the European Union.
Research and partnerships such as BIORECOVER will allow a 35% reduction in current costs and the recovery of at least 90% of the metals present in each of the raw materials, with a selectivity of 95% and a purity of more than 99.9%. CETIM will continue to work in this area to develop the necessary technology to guarantee supply and reduce the European Union’s dependence on imports of critical raw materials, thus promoting sustainable self-production, growth and job creation, as well as improving the competitiveness of the entire raw materials value chain.