Selective bio-recovery of rare earth elements with bioengineered peptide loops and encapsulated proteins

About the Project

The rare earth elements (REE) continue to rapidly increase as a strategic technological resource and form essential components in many existing and emerging applications.^[1] A key use is in green energy technologies including in nickel metal hydride (NiMH) batteries in hybrid electric vehicles, magnets for wind turbines, advanced communication and photonic systems, energy efficient lighting/displays and medical diagnostic and imaging technologies. Additional supplies of resources are therefore crucial to maintain future growth and enable greener and zero carbon energy technologies to progress.^[2] However, REE remain a finite resource and are now considered ‘critical elements’ and need to be recovered in pure form for use in the growing technologies yet current separation methods are inefficient and energy intensive. Increased utilization of REE has also resulted in increased environmental and human hazard exposure, thus in order to manage contamination, develop recycling strategies, trace their usage and take advantage of new mineral reserves, efficient methods to selectively recover REE are urgently needed. Remarkably, recent discoveries have reported the existence of lanthanide specific binding proteins, particularly Lanmodulin and LanPepsy, and exhibit unprecedented binding affinities for lanthanide ions, binding larger lanthanide ions over smaller ones and in addition to exhibiting pM selectivity over Ca²⁺.^[3][4]

This project will use an interdisciplinary engineering biology and coordination chemistry approach, alongside using the bespoke emission signals of REE to selectively bind, detect and recover individual REE using engineered metal binding peptide loops and proteins (based on Calmodulin, Lanmodulin and LnPEPSY) in combination with encapsulation strategies in metal-organic frameworks for enhanced separation, recovery, and recycling. Outcomes of this project are to bioengineer proteins that can selectively separate one individual REE element from another in a mining/E-waste mixture by synthesising a library of EF peptide loops and proteins that exhibit selective binding for a given REE or group of REEs based on size. Encapsulation of these proteins within solid framework materials will subsequently enable improved separations and development of a series of simple aqueous separation steps (e.g. using a combination of proteins and frameworks) for the recovery of pure single REE feedstocks for re-use in industrial applications.

Funding

This is a 3.5 year funded PhD project for self-funded students.

At The University of Manchester, we offer a range of scholarships, studentships and awards at university, faculty and department level, to support both UK and overseas postgraduate researchers.

Please contact your supervisor for more information about funding opportunities.

Entry requirement

The standard academic entry requirement for this PhD is an upper second-class (2:1) honours degree in a discipline directly relevant to the PhD (or international equivalent) OR any upper-second class (2:1) honours degree and a Master’s degree at merit in a discipline directly relevant to the PhD (or international equivalent).

Before you apply

We strongly recommend that you contact the supervisors for this project before you apply. Please include details of your current level of study, academic background and any relevant experience and include a paragraph about your motivation to study this PhD project.

We recommend that you apply early as the advert may be removed before the deadline.

How to apply

You will need to submit an online application through our website here: https://uom.link/pgr-apply

When you apply, you will be asked to upload the following supporting documents:

• Final Transcript and certificates of all awarded university level qualifications
• Interim Transcript of any university level qualifications in progress
• CV
• You will be asked to supply contact details for two referees on the application form (please make sure that the contact email you provide is an official university/ work email address as we may need to verify the reference)
• Supporting statement: A one or two page statement outlining your motivation to pursue postgraduate research and why you want to undertake postgraduate research at Manchester, any relevant research or work experience, the key findings of your previous research experience, and techniques and skills you’ve developed. (This is mandatory for all applicants and the application will be put on hold without it.
• English Language certificate (if applicable). If you require an English qualification to study in the UK, you can apply now and send this in at a later date.

If you have any queries regarding making an application please contact our admissions team FSE.doctoralacademy.admissions@manchester.ac.uk