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

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Rare Earth Elements Review Section 5 – Rare Earth Element Recovery/Alternative Material Use � In April 2011, DOE announced that through the ARPA-E program it would be providing up to $30 million in funding for a new research area called Rare Earth Alternatives in Critical Technologies (REACT). The goal will be to fund early-stage technology alternatives that reduce or eliminate the dependence on rare earth materials by developing substitutes for REEs used in electric vehicle motors and wind generators. � The Responsible Electronics Recycling Act was introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives in June 2011(H.R. 2284) and would add a section to the 1976 Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The purpose of this Act would be to prohibit U.S. companies from exporting certain electronic wastes to developing countries. Associated with this Act will be the establishment of a Rare Earth Materials Recycling Research Initiative that will fund projects in three main areas: (1) removal, separation, and recycling of rare earth metals from electronics; (2) new electronics design that promotes ease of separation and recycling; and (3) collection, logistics and supply chain optimization to support REE recycling. � The Critical Minerals Policy Act (S. 1113) was introduced to the U.S. Senate in May 2011 and is intended to modernize U.S. policies related to production, processing, manufacturing, recycling and environmental protection. The Act is focused on minerals identified as being most critical to military security and a strong economy (Lasley, 2011). � The proposed Critical Minerals and Materials Promotion Act of 2011 (S. 383) directs the U.S. Department of Interior to conduct research related to ensuring the supply of critical minerals throughout the supply chain. � The Center for Resource Recovery and Recycling (CR 3 ), funded by the National Science Foundation and industry partners, was established in 2010 and is located at the Colorado School of Mines, Worchester Polytechnic Institute, and the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium (Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 2011). As part of its mission, the Center plans to develop technologies to identify and separate scrap materials from waste streams and build strategies and technologies to enable greater scrap utilization within materials processes. Current research activities include efforts focused on REE recycling. � With a possible $2.5 M in funding from the EPA, the UN has initiated a new project that will track discarded mobile phones and other electronic wastes generated in the United States in order to develop solutions aimed at recovering REMs (and other materials) from the equipment through proper recycling. In addition to the United States, the project includes international partners (Dillow, 2011). � The government of Japan has instituted subsidies and facilitated inter-industry cooperation, both with the goal of encouraging REE recycling. Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has published a list of five main focus areas designed to ensure a stable supply of REEs. These focus areas include: (1) accelerating the development of alternatives to REEs; (2) positioning Japan as a global hub for REE recycling; (3) working with manufacturers to install equipment that would result in reduced REE consumption; (4) providing support to companies trying to acquire rights to REE mines outside of China; and (5) investigating the feasibility of stockpiling REEs (Hosaka, 2010). In support of these initiatives, the Ministry of Trade has provided a third of a billion dollars in subsidies, which has been used as seed money for 160 projects. Future funding will increase as the Japanese government is offering another 110 million dollars in subsidies in the next fiscal year. The Japanese have set a goal of reducing the amount of rear earths imported by its domestic industry by one-third (Kidela Capital Group, 2011) In addition, another source reports that Japan has made recycling of rare earth minerals mandatory (Baudzus, 2011). � South Korea has plans to spend $15 million by 2016 as part of a long-term policy for securing rare earths. The policy, titled “Plans for Stable Procurement of Rare Metals,” was scheduled to be finalized in 2010 and to include strategies related to developing mines, investing in alternative materials, and recycling technologies (Hosaka, 2010). 5-12
Rare Earth Elements Review Section 5 – Rare Earth Element Recovery/Alternative Material Use � In the European Union, there is a new law that requires car and electronic manufacturers to start recycling rare earth minerals (Baudzus, 2011). The European Commission also has adopted a new strategy targeted at better utilization of supplies in the EU, partnership with new sources (with Africa as the key focus), and increased recycling. In addition, Germany has passed its own strategy specifically designed to ensure that it is able to secure enough rare earths to support manufacturing operations. The strategy includes developing partnerships with countries that produce rare earths and is also designed to encourage recycling (Bloomberg Businessweek, 2010). 5-13
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Rare Earth Elements Review Table of
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Foreword The U.S. Environmental Pro
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Abstract Rare earth elements (REEs)
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Table of Contents List of Acronyms
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List of Tables 2-1. Abundance of El
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Rare Earth Elements Review List of
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