Biophytometallurgy: biomining metals from plant resources

Mildly acidic extraction from Phytolacca shoots shows REE release is linked to chemically accessible compartments with equilibrium-like partitioning, not a dominant crystalline REE-phosphate-like pool.

• Why it matters: Metal acquisition and redistribution across plant–solution–microbe interfaces are still unclear, limiting how biophytometallurgy can be designed for reliable metal recovery.
• What they did: In solid–liquid extraction, dissolution and rebinding experiments tested Ni and REE compartment accessibility, and sulfur biooxidation with Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans tracked how microbial sinks shape aqueous REE levels.
• The result: During biooxidation, Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans promotes REE release while acting as a competing cell-associated REE sink, so aqueous REE reflects net redistribution across plant, solution, and microbial phases.

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