Engineered microbe speeds CO₂ capture and recovers critical metals
A genetically engineered bacterium can rapidly break down one of Earth's most abundant minerals, opening a promising new pathway for simultaneously removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and recovering critical elements used in electric vehicle batteries, according to new Cornell research.
A genetically engineered bacterium, Gluconobacter oxydans (G. oxydans), has been developed by researchers at Cornell University to rapidly weather ultramafic minerals rich in magnesium and iron. This process not only recovers critical metals like cobalt and nickel used in electric vehicle batteries but also converts dissolved magnesium into magnesium oxalate, a promising carbon storage mineral.
Led by senior author Esteban Gazel and first author Jacob Klug, the study published in Scientific Reports revealed that the engineered bacteria can increase magnesium dissolution rates by up to 75% within 15 days while releasing valuable metals. The research suggests this approach could improve the economics of large-scale carbon removal by utilizing unconventional mineral sources and offers an alternative to the commonly studied magnesium carbonate mineral magnesite, which forms magnesium oxalate with twice the carbon storage capacity.
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