MPS-Ascend: CRITICAL METALS FROM COMPLEX WASTE STREAMS: AN ELECTROCHEMISTRY ROADMAP TO SELECTIVE EXTRACTION

Stackhouse, Chavis A, Port Jefferson Station NY

Investigators

Abstract

This award is funded in whole or in part under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-2). Dr. Chavis A. Stackhouse is awarded a NSF Mathematical and Physical Sciences Ascending Postdoctoral Research Fellowship (NSF MPS-Ascend) to conduct a program of research and activities related to broaden participation by groups underrepresented in STEM. This fellowship to Dr. Stackhouse supports his research entitled “MPS-Ascend: Critical Metals from Complex Waste Streams: An Electrochemical Roadmap to Selective Extraction”, under the mentorship of sponsoring senior scientists. The host institution for the fellowship is Texas A&M University, and the sponsoring scientists are Dr. Sarbajit Banerjee and Dr. Karen Wooley. With this fellowship, Dr. Stackhouse investigates new methods to advance the recovery of rare-earth elements (REEs) from waste streams using energy efficient and electrochemical processes to selectively recover rare-earth elements in high purity from complex waste streams. REEs are crucial elements to technologies important to the energy transition, manufacturing competitiveness, and national security. Current industrial recycling efforts are impeded by the limited amount of REE obtained, lack of commercial recycling technologies suitable for the recovery of the small amount of REEs present in the evolving complex mixture of metal within consumer products, and low metal value per unit, which makes dependence upon primary sources more cost-effective. These issues compound national reliance on foreign natural resources. This project exploits the unique properties of a class of salts known as ionic liquids (ILs) for a targeted recovery of rare-earth metals from commercial waste streams (e.g., permanent magnets, computing devices, etc.). With the help of advanced characterization tools, such as cutting-edge synchrotron X-ray spectroscopy techniques, the researcher advances the collective knowledge of this research community, by elucidating a detailed mechanistic understanding of rare-earth solvation, and the developing fundamental electrochemical and chemical design principles that offer new routes to obtain rare earth metal from waste streams. In addition to societal broader impacts, exemplified by mitigating the environmental impact of REEs in waste streams as well as the reliance upon foreign sources of REEs, Dr. Stackhouse actively broadens participation of underrepresented minorities in STEM with this fellowship. He develops a mentoring program for undergraduate students from two minority-serving institutions, Prairie View A&M and Texas A&M Kingsville, an HBCU and Hispanic-serving institution, respectively. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.