Applications of Biotechnology in Critical Metal Recovery
A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Applied Biosciences and Bioengineering".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 September 2026 | Viewed by 203
Editors
Interests: biotechnology; microbiology; biomining; rare earth elements; bioleaching
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The transition to a net-zero economy has precipitated an unprecedented demand for critical minerals, particularly Rare Earth Elements, lithium, cobalt and nickel, which are essential for electric vehicles and renewable energy technologies. As high-grade primary ores deplete, the recovery of these metals from low-grade resources and anthropogenic waste (urban mining) has become a strategic imperative. This Special Issue seeks to capture the state-of-the-art in biotechnologies designed to secure these critical supply chains.
We invite submissions that bridge the gap between fundamental microbiology and industrial application. The scope encompasses three primary thematic areas:
(1) Biomining and biorecovery, exploring novel heterotrophic and autotrophic organisms for the extraction of Rare Earth Elements and battery metals from ores and e-waste;
(2) Biotechnological enhancements, focusing on synthetic biology, metabolic engineering and protein engineering to improve selectivity and efficiency;
(3) Industry applications and challenges, addressing scale-up, techno-economic analysis and the commercialization of phytomining and bio-recycling technologies.
Both original research articles and comprehensive reviews are welcome.
Dr. Mauricio Acosta
Dr. Francisco Remonsellez
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- biomining
- rare earth elements
- bioleaching
- electronic waste recycling
- circular economy
- critical raw materials
- phytomining
- synthetic biology
- urban mining
- resource recovery
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