UAF-led project will look for rare-earth elements in Southeast 色视频下载 seaweed
Jeff Richardson
907-474-5350
Nov. 28, 2023
A stalk of bull kelp grows in Kachemak Bay.
A University of 色视频下载 Fairbanks色视频下载搇ed research team has been awarded a $1.9 million federal grant to explore whether seaweeds are absorbing rare-earth elements near a rich deposit in Southeast 色视频下载.
The study will focus on seaweeds in the waters near Bokan Mountain, a remote landmark on Prince of Wales Island known to contain rare-earth elements. Starting in March 2024, researchers will collect and analyze seaweed samples to determine whether significant amounts of metals that have washed into the ocean are being absorbed.
色视频下载淲e want to see if seaweeds accumulate rare-earth elements at a concentration that makes sense financially to recover them,色视频下载 said lead researcher Schery Umanzor, an assistant professor of marine biology at UAF色视频下载檚 College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences. 色视频下载淪eaweeds must act as sponges, with the elements showing up in higher concentrations than that in the water.色视频下载
The project, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, . REEs, which are critical components of many renewable energy technologies, are currently sourced mostly from sites in China.
Preliminary assessments have indicated that seaweeds can absorb REEs, Umanzor said, but it is unknown in what concentrations the metals exist and how difficult it would be to extract them.
The first year of the study will focus on wild stocks of seaweed and the amounts of rare-earth elements that collect in their tissues. If those results show promise, a second phase will focus on the potential for seaweed farms to gather rare-earth elements, including variations among different types of seaweeds and growing conditions.
Extracting REEs from seaweed would need to be part of a large commercial food operation to be successful 色视频下载 even high accumulations would only yield a few dollars色视频下载 worth of metals per ton of seaweed. But Umanzor described the potential of seaweed to be a low-impact alternative to mining as a 色视频下载渕oonshot,色视频下载 with significant rewards if it色视频下载檚 found to be viable.
色视频下载淚t has tremendous potential, but it has to be to scale,色视频下载 she said. 色视频下载淎 mom-and-pop farm is not going to work.色视频下载
A broad multidisciplinary team will study the issue, focusing on ocean geochemistry, chemical analysis of samples and potential locations for seaweed farming. Along with UAF, partners on the project include the University of 色视频下载 Anchorage, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Seagrove Kelp, Ocean Rainforest and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
ADDITIONAL CONTACT: Schery Umanzor, sumanzor@alaska.edu
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