“Tetrathiometallates are transition metals that are conventionally used in medicine as treatments for copper metabolic disorders and cancer, the scientists said.

But by using them as a reagent in a redox (reduction-oxidation) reaction, they extracted samples of europium easily — including from post-consumer waste in the form of spent energy-saving light bulbs, they said in the study…

The efficiency of europium removal was approximately 98.9% — which was “over an order of magnitude higher than the best reported [methods],” the scientists added.

The researchers have patented their technology and are setting up a company named REEcover to commercialize it.”

From Live Science.