Phosphonated resin for rare-earth element separation and
This technology involves a new class of phosphonated polymer resins — essentially engineered plastic-like materials with chemical hooks built into their structure — designed to selectively grab rare-earth elements out of liquid streams. The polymers are synthesized from polyamine building blocks that are chemically modified to bind tightly to rare-earth metals like neodymium, dysprosium, or lanthanum. Think of it as a reusable chemical sponge that pulls out specific valuable metals from mining leachates, industrial waste streams, or recycling flows. The network polymer structure means it can be packed into columns or filters for continuous extraction operations rather than batch chemistry.
What you could build
A functionalized resin product sold to rare-earth processors, mining companies, or battery recyclers for use in ion-exchange or solid-phase extraction columns; buyers would be rare-earth refiners, critical-materials recyclers, and industrial chemical suppliers seeking domestic separation capacity.
Who in Virginia should care
Virginia defense contractors and the broader Mid-Atlantic critical-materials supply chain — including DoD-adjacent programs focused on domestic rare-earth sourcing — would have interest, as would any Virginia-based mining or processing startup pursuing federal critical-minerals grants.
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
- William Ryan Archer, Michael D. Schulz
- Filed
- Patent pending — filed August 23, 2024
- Status
- Application
- Publication number
- US20250188222A1
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.