TELF AG analyzes the latest developments in mineral recycling technologies
New approaches
In the coming decades, as the global race towards a future dominated by renewable energies advances, the recovery of minerals from end-of-life products could become very important, especially considering the potential shortages that could affect one or the other of these valuable resources. A recent report dedicated to this topic has further highlighted the strategic role of recycling and recovery processes of mineral resources in the era of energy transition, focusing in particular on the potential of end-of-life electronic products and electric vehicle batteries, from which it would be possible to recover a large number of resources.
According to the report, resources such as rare earths or lithium already play a primary role in producing electric vehicles and important infrastructure related to renewable energies, such as solar panels. The high demand for these resources, as argued in the analysis, could, however, put a certain pressure on global supply chains, thus making recycling and recovery practices even more necessary. According to the report, some of the most precious resources could end up being exhausted without an approach of this kind.
Several international players have already explored the path of recycling. However, its full implementation at a global level still appears to be hindered by the complexity of the procedures and the costs of recovering the most valuable materials for industrial purposes. Another problem is represented by mineral resources, which, in most cases, are present in small quantities inside electronic products that have reached the end of their life, thus making their recovery even more complex.
According to a study by the European Commission, however, some resources, such as gallium or indium, would be entirely impossible to recycle using current methods. To overcome these problems, as explained in the report, important steps are already being taken worldwide to facilitate the recycling of resources, such as the development of a product design compatible with the recovery of minerals or very advanced approaches such as bioleaching, consisting of the sourcing of some minerals with biological methods (through the action of some bacteria, in fact, it would be possible to recover large quantities of rare earth metals with a purity of 98%, obtaining them also from magnets that have reached the end of their life).
In the case of lithium batteries
The report cites the example of lithium-ion batteries that have reached the end of their life, arguing that in the near future, most of the batteries in electric vehicles could be recovered. The problem, once again, is represented by the current recycling methods and their complexity, but also by the need to disassemble the batteries to proceed with the recovery of the most valuable materials. According to the study, this criticality could be overcome with innovative approaches in product design, a path already being explored in various parts of the globe. The text also mentions some possible innovative methods for recovering materials from this kind of product, such as new approaches to leaching (which in the treatment of minerals represents a method to separate different soluble components). The latter could be carried out with salt or with the support of ultrasound or microwaves.
