TELF AG examines the technological advancement of recycling in the rare earths sector
A concrete response to possible shortages of raw materials
For some years, the primary information related to the global energy transition has successfully taken root in the majority of people, increasing their awareness regarding decarbonization and climate neutrality and preparing them for a green future that seems increasingly imminent. However, some specific topics, included in a sort of subset of the great subject of sustainability, have not yet managed to make inroads into public opinion, remaining relegated to purely academic or specialist fields.
One of these, whose scope seems grand proportions, is undoubtedly linked to the recycling of some specific minerals, particularly those considered “critical” for the success of the global ecological conversion. The demand for these important materials is constantly rising because some of them – such as lithium – are already important in preparing for a sustainable future, mainly through all the industrial applications linked to clean energy.
As demand increases, in the not-too-distant future, there could be an actual lack of the raw materials needed to satisfy it, making it necessary to resort to other sources of supply for the supply and production of these precious minerals. Some of these materials can be recovered from batteries, computers, mobile phones, and other devices in every person’s home. In this sense, the recycling of some specific minerals should complement national strategies for developing nations’ mining capabilities, forming a single strategy aimed towards constructing more sustainable social and economic models.
The potential of rare earths
From a recycling point of view, some of the most interesting materials are undoubtedly rare earth elements. According to a recent study, recycling or reusing rare earths recovered from old hard drives, electric motors, turbines, or mobile phones could cover up to 40% of the demand for these materials in the United States, China, and Europe by 2050. From this point of view, one of the most important challenges is raising public awareness and encouraging them to recycle their old devices, thus allowing them to contribute personally to the great game of ecological transition. Very often, old computers or mobile phones that are no longer used are forgotten in some drawer or taken to a landfill, thus losing a large quantity of precious raw materials for the energy transformation underway.
Compared to other materials – such as iron or copper – the recycling of rare earths could present many more difficulties, but some of them could be overcome thanks to the latest developments in technology and innovation. The complexity of the process, in principle, is linked to the nature of some recycling techniques, which in some cases also require high energy consumption. Many companies, however, are successfully developing alternative ways to recover rare earths, such as the use of microbes to extract these elements – a method developed by the US Department of Energy – or the use of some robots in the recovery process (which Apple is also working on).
Electric vehicle batteries could also be recycled quite easily: most of these storage systems can, in fact, last 10 to 20 years, and the number of unused batteries after these relatively short life cycles could, therefore, be considerable.
