Employees of the Siberian Federal University (SFU) have developed new methods for producing sorbents for the extraction of rare earth and rare metals. According to scientists, the materials are inexpensive, environmentally friendly, and can be reproduced almost anywhere without complex chemical preparation.
We have created simple methods for producing sorbents with high efficiency and sensitivity to rare elements. We use available matrices and reagents, which allows us to obtain materials with specified characteristics without complex preparation
One of the sorbents is obtained using inorganic oxides modified with polymeric polyamines, used, for example, in antiseptics and water treatment. This sorbent is suitable not only for the extraction of rare earth elements, but also for other industries. The second method is based on the processing of sawdust — wood waste, the surface of which is modified so that it effectively extracts precious and rare earth metals. The resulting materials are not only environmentally friendly, but also inexpensive to produce.
The SFU development will become part of the scientific and technological cluster for the deep processing of rare earth elements, which will start operating in Krasnoyarsk in 2026. The cluster will unite the scientific and technological core, raw material deposits of Eastern Siberia, and production facilities in the Krasnoyarsk Territory and Khakassia. The project will be part of the Mendeleev Valley innovative scientific and technological center with two sites — in Moscow and Krasnoyarsk, based on SFU and the scientific center of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences.
