Gas-assisted microflow unit for dilute metal recovery
The GAME system is a compact reactor that extracts trace metals—including rare earth elements and base metals—from liquid streams using a combination of gas bubbles, organic solvents, and water in a single vertical chamber. By forcing gas through a porous membrane, it creates tiny bubbles coated in organic solvent that travel upward through a metal-bearing water solution, capturing dissolved metals along the way. The mixed output is then separated into organic and aqueous fractions, and the metals are recovered from the organic fraction. This approach is designed to work efficiently even when metal concentrations in the source liquid are very low, which is a persistent challenge for conventional extraction methods.
What you could build
A modular, continuous-flow metal recovery unit targeting rare earth element and critical mineral processors, electronic waste recyclers, and mining leach operations that need to extract dilute metals from large volumes of liquid; buyers would be mining companies, e-waste recyclers, and critical minerals refiners.
Who in Virginia should care
Virginia-based defense contractors and federal agencies (NRL, DARPA supply chain) focused on domestic critical mineral supply chains, plus Appalachian coal mine drainage remediation operators.
Readiness: Lab validated
Concept — described but not yet demonstrated. Lab validated — supported by experimental results in the patent. Prototype likely — the text describes a built, working embodiment.
Readiness is inferred from the patent text, not from a lab visit.
The record
- Inventors
- Wencai Zhang, Subodh Das
- Filed
- Patent pending — filed June 23, 2023
- Status
- Application
- Publication number
- US20230416867A1
Ready to talk?
Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties handles licensing for this technology.
Prosim summaries are generated from public patent text and are not legal advice.