IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i11p5118-d1670646.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Extraction of Rare Earth Elements from Idaho-Sourced Soil Through Phytomining: A Case Study in Central Idaho, USA

Author

Listed:
  • Kathryn Richardson

    (Environmental Science Program, University of Idaho, Idaho Falls, ID 83402, USA)

  • Amin Mirkouei

    (Environmental Science Program, University of Idaho, Idaho Falls, ID 83402, USA
    Department of Nuclear Engineering and Industrial Management, University of Idaho, Idaho Falls, ID 83402, USA)

  • Kasia Duellman

    (Department of Entomology, Plant Pathology and Nematology, University of Idaho, Idaho Falls, ID 83402, USA)

  • Anthony Aylward

    (Rare Flora Inc., UCR Life Science Incubator, Multidisciplinary Research Building (MRB), 900 University Ave, Riverside, CA 92501, USA)

  • David Zirker

    (Department of Nuclear Engineering and Industrial Management, University of Idaho, Idaho Falls, ID 83402, USA)

  • Eliezer Schwarz

    (Department of Biological Sciences, Idaho State University, Idaho Falls, ID 83404, USA)

  • Ying Sun

    (Rare Flora Inc., UCR Life Science Incubator, Multidisciplinary Research Building (MRB), 900 University Ave, Riverside, CA 92501, USA)

Abstract

Environmentally friendly and low-emission extraction methods are needed to meet worldwide rare earth element (REE) demand. Within a greenhouse setting, this study aims to investigate the REE hyperaccumulation ability of four plant species (e.g., Phalaris arundinacea , Solanum nigrum , Phytolacca americana , and Brassica juncea ) and the impact of amending REE-rich soil with biochar or fertilizer and watering with citric acid solution. Harvested samples were pyrolyzed, and the resulting bio-ores were acid-digested and underwent elemental analysis to determine REE content. Amending soil with fertilizer and biochar increased bio-ore production, while plant species explained the most variation in bioaccumulation factor. The results indicate that Phalaris arundinacea achieved the highest average REE concentration of 27,940 µg/g for the targeted REEs (comprising cerium, lanthanum, neodymium, praseodymium, and yttrium) and 37,844 µg/g for total REEs. It is also found that soil amendment and plant species are critical parameters in the design and implementation of Idaho-based REE phytomining operations. The life cycle assessment study estimated that the electricity demand of the greenhouse contributed the most to GHG emissions during the greenhouse study. Within the field study, electricity demand of the pyrolysis reactor was determined to be the largest producer of GHGs. The techno-economic analysis estimated that the total cost of growing P. arundinacea for six weeks on a one-acre field area is USD 6213, including 39%, 22%, 21%, and 18% of that cost derived from cultivation, biomass processing, soil treatment with fertilizer, and pyrolysis, respectively. It is concluded that the proposed low-emission extraction pathway, which combines phytomining, drying, and pyrolysis, is a promising sustainable approach for REE extraction, especially from REE-rich soil sourced in Idaho.

Suggested Citation

  • Kathryn Richardson & Amin Mirkouei & Kasia Duellman & Anthony Aylward & David Zirker & Eliezer Schwarz & Ying Sun, 2025. "Extraction of Rare Earth Elements from Idaho-Sourced Soil Through Phytomining: A Case Study in Central Idaho, USA," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(11), pages 1-16, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:11:p:5118-:d:1670646
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/11/5118/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/11/5118/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Saleem H. Ali, 2023. "The US should get serious about mining critical minerals for clean energy," Nature, Nature, vol. 615(7953), pages 563-563, March.
    2. Hong, Ziyu & Zhong, Fei & Niu, Wenjuan & Zhang, Kai & Su, Jing & Liu, Jiazheng & Li, Lijie & Wu, Fengrui, 2020. "Effects of temperature and particle size on the compositions, energy conversions and structural characteristics of pyrolysis products from different crop residues," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Wang, Linzheng & Zhang, Ruizhi & Deng, Ruiqu & Liu, Zeqing & Luo, Yonghao, 2023. "Comprehensive parametric study of fixed-bed co-gasification process through Multiple Thermally Thick Particle (MTTP) model," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 348(C).
    2. Zhi Xu & Zhaohui Guo & Huimin Xie & Yulian Hu, 2022. "Effect of Cd on Pyrolysis Velocity and Deoxygenation Characteristics of Rice Straw: Analogized with Cd-Impregnated Representative Biomass Components," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-18, July.
    3. Deyi Xu & Shiquan Dou & Yongguang Zhu & Jinhua Cheng, 2024. "Resource nationalism: the intersection of politics and economics," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-15, December.
    4. Shan, Tilun & Chen, Hu & Liu, Ting & Ma, Zizhen & Tan, Yan & Zhang, Huawei, 2025. "Synergistic effects in the Co-pyrolysis of waste tires, plastics, and corn stalks: Kinetic and thermodynamic analyses for enhanced resource utilization," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(C).
    5. Tessa Lee & Yuan Yao & Thomas E. Graedel & Alessio Miatto, 2024. "Critical material requirements and recycling opportunities for US wind and solar power generation," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 28(3), pages 527-541, June.
    6. Samar Elkhalifa & Hamish R. Mackey & Tareq Al-Ansari & Gordon McKay, 2022. "Pyrolysis of Biosolids to Produce Biochars: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-19, August.
    7. Rahimi, Mohammad & Mashhadimoslem, Hossein & Vo Thanh, Hung & Ranjbar, Benyamin & Safarzadeh Khosrowshahi, Mobin & Rohani, Abbas & Elkamel, Ali, 2023. "Yield prediction and optimization of biomass-based products by multi-machine learning schemes: Neural, regression and function-based techniques," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:11:p:5118-:d:1670646. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.