Recycling a Threat to Chinese Rare Earth Element Hegemony? Not Close

Highlights

• Only 1% of rare earth elements are currently recycled.
• China dominates the global supply chain of rare earth elements.
• New recycling technologies like the SEEE process show promise for more efficient and environmentally friendly rare earth element recovery.
• Technical, economic, and infrastructure challenges continue to limit widespread rare earth element recycling efforts.

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The Chinese are starting to ponder what life could be like if recycling could replace rare earth element mining. Just such a what if scenario was asked today in the South China Morning Post (opens in a new tab). However, while advances are being made in recycling technology, Chinese hegemony over this supply chain seems secured for at least some years.

That is because only about 1% (opens in a new tab) of rare earth elements (REEs) are recovered through recycling, despite their critical role in high-tech industries and clean energy technologies. Recycling is particularly challenging due to the low concentrations of REEs in consumer products, the difficulty of separating them from other materials, and the high costs and environmental impact of traditional recycling processes.

China dominates the rare earths industry, including recycling, largely because of its well-established infrastructure and control over much of the global supply chain. However, advancements in recycling technologies, especially in the United States and Europe, could reduce this dependence. New methods, such as the use of environmentally friendly bacterial acids or advanced chelators, are showing promise for increasing efficiency and scalability while minimizing environmental harm. For instance, copper-salt-based methods can recover 90–98%of REEs from discarded magnets with lower carbon footprints than traditional mining.

What are some promising approaches?

One of the most promising recycling technologies for separating rare earth elements is the “selective extraction-evaporation-electrolysis (opens in a new tab) (SEEE)” process, which uses a molten salt mixture to selectively extract rare earth elements from magnet scraps, followed by evaporation to remove impurities and finally electrochemical separation to isolate individual rare earth metals like neodymium and dysprosium with high purity; this method is considered more environmentally friendly and efficient compared to traditional techniques. 

Key aspects of this technology:

• Selective extraction:

Utilizes a molten salt mixture (like calcium chloride and magnesium chloride) to selectively extract rare earth elements from the waste material.

• Selective evaporation:

Removes any remaining extraction agents and byproducts, concentrating the rare earth elements.

• Selective electrolysis:

Separates the extracted rare earth elements based on their different electrochemical properties, allowing for high-purity recovery of individual elements. 

Other promising approaches to rare earth element separation:

• Liquid-liquid extraction:

A well-established technique where rare earth elements are selectively distributed between two immiscible liquid phases, allowing for efficient separation. 

• Ion exchange:

Uses specialized resin beads to selectively bind and separate rare earth ions based on their size and charge. 

• Bio-based methods:

Utilizing bacteria or other microorganisms that can selectively bind to specific rare earth elements, offering a potentially more environmentally friendly approach. 

• Acid-free dissolution recycling (ADR):

A process that aims to extract rare earth elements from e-waste without the use of harsh acids, reducing environmental impact. 

All promising but plenty of obstacles stand in the way.

Rare Earth Exchanges lists some key obstacles in the way of rapid expansion of REE recycling:

Obstacle	Summary
Economic Viability	The small quantities of REEs in most products make recycling less economically attractive compared to mining.
Technical Challenges	Separating REEs from other materials and from each other is complex due to their similar chemical properties.
Infrastructure Gaps	Many countries lack the facilities to collect and process electronic waste at scale.
Regulatory and Recycling a Threat to Chinese Rare Earth Element Hegemony?  Not Close  Barriers	Strict environmental standards in countries outside China make recycling more costly and challenging to scale.

Accelerating investment in innovative recycling technologies and establishing robust e-waste collection systems are critical to reducing reliance on China’s dominance in REE processing.