mutherhrg

mutherhrg OP t1_ivye8r8 wrote

Heavy rare earth elements (HREEs) such as Gd–Lu, Sc and Y are irreplaceable metals for a number of critical (including clean) technologies, but they are scarce. Ion-adsorption deposits, which form within weathering crusts, supply more than 95% of the global HREE demand. However, these deposits are currently mined via ammonium-salt-based leaching techniques that are responsible for severe environmental damage and show low recovery efficiency. As a result, the adoption of such techniques is restricted for REE mining, further exacerbating REE scarcity, which in turn could lead to supply chain disruptions. Here we report the design of an innovative REE mining technique, electrokinetic mining (EKM), which enables green, efficient and selective recovery of REEs from weathering crusts. Its feasibility is demonstrated via bench-scale, scaled-up and on-site field experiments. Compared with conventional techniques, EKM achieves ~2.6 times higher recovery efficiency, an ~80% decrease in leaching agent usage and a ~70% reduction in metallic impurities in the obtained REEs. As an additional benefit, the results point to an autonomous purification mechanism for REE enrichment, wherein the separation process is based on the mobility and reactivity diversity between REEs and metallic impurities. Overall, the evidence presented suggests that EKM is a viable mining technique, revealing new paths for the sustainable harvesting of natural resources.

25

mutherhrg OP t1_iv6kox9 wrote

Chinese scientists say they have created a salt-tolerant soybean species that could reduce the country’s dependence on imports from places like Brazil, where soy production is driving deforestation.

The team from the Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences in Jinan say their new soybean species can yield 4.5 tonnes per hectare – more than twice the average – in saline-alkali soil, the official Science and Technology Daily reported on July 28.

For the study, the scientists planted the soybean in places including the Xinjiang region and the Yellow River Delta, where soil salinity is a problem. They said most of the trial crops yielded far more than the average of 1.8 tonnes per hectare.

In China, about 100 million hectares of land is estimated to be affected by salinisation and soil degradation, about a third of it in Xinjiang in the far west. But if soybean could be cultivated on this land, there is potential to produce 450 million tonnes a year – almost five times the amount China imported in 2021.

69

mutherhrg t1_iudcwr4 wrote

Yeah of course. He's just some random dude. If an American came to me and told me that Biden stole the elections and that 5G caused covid, would you want me to believe that shit because he's American? It's pretty fucking clear that China is all in on A.I at this point, one random dude non-withstanding, as evidence by the massive amount of money and resources they're throwing into it.

5

mutherhrg OP t1_itkggng wrote

Maybe one day we can eat this protein directly. But the issue is the taste and "ick" factor. We can barely get people to eat a vegan diet, or insects, let alone raw protein sludge. This kind of protein does have the potential to be mixed in other food as supplements, like with flour, protein powder or protein bars.

3

mutherhrg OP t1_itjuusc wrote

There's also dozens other versions that use combinations of carbon monoxide, hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide etc etc so there's lots of potential there. Eventually, you could have enough renewables that you're pulling methane out of the air, made from carbon dioxide of the of the air instead of digging it out of the ground.

Whatever is it, it's better than feeding farmed fish with 3-4 times their weight in wild fish

2

mutherhrg OP t1_itjupjn wrote

Not many people want to eat raw protein. Doesn't taste good, it's doesn't have the raw taste, texture and "feel" of actual meat. There's probably a major ick factor there too. Might be useful for mixing raw protein into stuff like flour, protein bars or protein powder one day maybe.

8

mutherhrg OP t1_itjuefl wrote

There's also dozens other versions that use combinations of carbon monoxide, hydrogen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide etc etc so there's lots of potential there. Eventually, you could have enough renewables that you're pulling methane out of the air, made from carbon dioxide of the of the air instead of digging it out of the ground.

8

mutherhrg OP t1_itiagjs wrote

>What input materials are being turned into protein?

https://www.fishfarmingexpert.com/adisseo-aquaculture-aquafeed/work-started-on-20000-tonne-gas-to-aquafeed-plant/1337587

>Calysseo is a joint venture between global animal feed additives supplier Adisseo and protein innovator Calysta, which uses natural gas (methane) to grow a naturally occurring bacteria, producing a safe SCP.

So methane it is.

>How does carbon monoxide end up in protein?

Complex chemical reactions being used by the bacteria transforming the substance into protein. Basically, a large bioreactor.

>What are the microbes being fed. What are these protein substances that we would see in one of the fermenters? Is it a goopy film that is dried?

Hard to say, there's a dozen different types of this processes using different microbes, different feedstock , some of it is being trade secrets, you need to actually go inside the factory to know the details. The final product is basically pellets, but there's no telling what by-products are produced, or the steps taken to process it into the pellet form. It just opened after all and this kinds of industrial protein factories aren't very common. Maybe in 10 years when there's thousands of this factories across the world, we'll know more about it.

66

mutherhrg OP t1_iti67g4 wrote

Fermentation is a process that uses microbes, to break down compounds to create products like protein or alcohol. This allows for basic raw ingredients such as glucose, starch, carbon monoxide or methane to be used to produce complex food like protein.

Traditional fish food for farmed fish is largely comprised of wild fish or soy. This leads to overfishing and massive amounts of land use for the growing of soy. By using industrial scale fermentation, you can vastly reduce the land and water needed to produce fish food. This technology could also be used to feed other kind of livestock as well.

195

mutherhrg OP t1_ithjdag wrote

There's there still called google you know. It's pretty much common sense that China would be investing heavily in just about every energy storage solution known to man. They have some of the largest pumped hydro, compressed air, redox flow, thermal storage in molten salt, gravity batteries, lithium ion, green hydrogen projects going on.

3