Engineered Yeast Recovers Rare Earths from E‑Waste

Growing demand for electronics is straining supplies of rare earth metals and exposing limitations in conventional extraction and recycling methods.

Researchers at Osaka Metropolitan University chemically modified baker’s yeast to create sulfated yeast (S‑yeast), which exhibits strong, selective adsorption of heavy and rare earth metal ions from aqueous solutions. In lab tests S‑yeast showed roughly 2.3× greater copper uptake than an earlier phosphate‑modified yeast and also captured zinc, cadmium, lead and several rare earth elements.

Bound metals can be released with hydrochloric acid, allowing the biosorbent to be regenerated and reused across adsorption–desorption cycles. That recyclability, combined with the yeast’s biodegradability and low cost, points to a potentially scalable, less wasteful alternative to energy‑intensive mining and chemical treatments.

Lead investigator Masayuki Azuma says the team is optimizing synthesis and running pilot experiments with complex industrial fluids to validate performance at scale. Published results highlight a promising route for integrating biotechnology into circular materials management and for reducing environmental impacts of e‑waste processing.