Rare Earth Elements: A Review of Production, Processing ...

Rare Earth Elements Review Section 5 – Rare Earth Element Recovery/Alternative Material Use
5.2.1 Collection
The first step, defined as collection, is discussed in the recent report by UNEP (Schluep et al., 2009) and
can be accomplished through a variety of means, but it is generally more efficient when a collection
infrastructure is already established. In the past, state regulations have been effective at establishing the
collection and recycling infrastructure required to increase recycling rates for consumer goods in the
United States. For example, in the 1980s, the recycling of lead-acid car batteries became required by
many states and resulted in a 95 percent recycling rate by 1990. The EPA data show that, nationally, 19%
of consumer electronics were recycled in 2009 (Bomgardner, 2011). As of May 2011, 25 states have laws
requiring e-waste recycling, and 5 additional states have pending laws. In most cases, manufactures are
required to cover the costs associated with the collection and recycling. A summary of these state laws
and information on collection volumes to date is available on the Internet (Electronic Take Back
Coalition, 2011). In further support of electronics recycling, the Responsible Electronics Recycling Act
was introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives in June 2011(H.R. 2284) and includes as one of
three main focus areas: support for collection, logistics, and supply chain optimization to support REE
recycling.
The EPA’s Plug-In To eCycling Partners website provides links to take-back programs and drop-off
locations for mobile devices, computers, printers, and televisions. The partners include retail stores,
equipment manufacturers, and mobile device service providers. Together, they collected and recycled 68
million pounds of used consumer electronics in 2008 (U.S. EPA, 2008b). Collection methods include
direct mail of products to locations established by equipment manufactures and drop off of used products
at designated locations, such as retail stores or locations specifically setup as part of collection day events.
Environmental impacts from the collection step are most predominantly due to transportation/shipping of
materials to the collection point and from the point of collection to the location of the processing facility.
5.2.2 Dismantling/Preprocessing
Dismantling and preprocessing steps are critical for separating the high-value components from less
valuable materials. Frequently, high-value materials such as REEs and other metals, like gold, make up a
small percentage of the item being recycled, and separation steps will make it more efficient to recover
them. However, even when metals are separated from other nonmetal components, mixed metal scrap is
more challenging to recycle than segregated metals.
Typical dismantling and preprocessing steps include manual or mechanical separations, manual or
mechanical disassembly, mechanical shredding, and screening. The specific details of each step are
reported in the literature and are dependent on the item being recycled and the material being recovered
(Schluep et al., 2009). Figure 5-2 provides photos of a facility where computer hard disk drives are
manually disassembled, and of the resulting separated components, including magnets containing REEs.
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