LAUSR

A new method of quantifying rare earth elements (REEs): light REEs (neodymium—Nd3+ and samarium—Sm3+) and heavy REE (europium—Eu3+) was investigated by utilizing native Cupriavidus necator as the biosorbent and dielectrophoresis as the quantification technique.C. necator was characterized as a control through the measurement of the first and second crossover frequencies in a polymer-based (PDMS) point-and-planar microwell platform at 8 Vpp (peak-to-peak voltage) ac signal and variable frequencies. Allied C. necator in its metal-bound state was then characterized for each of the REEs adsorbed. The first crossover frequency (fco1) was correlated with the amount of metal adsorbed that was obtained through spectrophotometry. The influence of pH, biosorbent dosage, initial REE concentration, and REE incubation period was further investigated to study the effects of those on the biosorption process. It was found that the amount of metal biosorbed by the C. necator is directly proportional to the biosorbent dosa...