To date, some twenty hyperaccumulator plant species (almost ferns such as Dicranopteris dicthotoma) accumulate high concentrations of RE especially in their erial parts. The phytoextraction service allows the extraction and recovery of RE from soils or industrial wastes (e.g., phosphogypsum from phosphoric acid production) with the prospect of economic added value. The concept of phytomanagement is a promising solution when conventional mining methods are no longer cost-effective, not to mention all the ecosystem services provided by plants. In spite of that, recycling stays extremely difficult, expensive and is currently not seen as a significant solution. Therefore, investigations leading to new solutions for the RE recycling from alternate resources like electronic, mining and industrial wastes, has been rapidly growing. This demand has induced an increase in mining activities and consequently a release of RE into the surrounding environment, causing a potential threat to human health and the environment. Thus, the demand for RE has increased significantly during the last decades. RE have been identified as critical elements due to their special properties (e.g., catalytic, metallurgical, nuclear, electrical, magnetic, and luminescent) and various applications in many modern technologies, environment and economic areas.
#Rare earth elements properties plus
Rare earth (RE) elements are a group of 17 chemical elements including the 15 lanthanides plus Yttrium and Scandium. Laboratory of Planetology and Geodynamics of Nantes, UMR 6112 CNRS, Faculty of Sciences and Technology of Nantes, Nantes, France.Lanthanum, cerium and some of the other elements are widely used in applications such as catalysts, metallurgy, polishing, glass, ceramics and phosphors.
#Rare earth elements properties driver
The key driver of the rare earths industry in recent decades is their application in permanent NdFeB magnets, where neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium are used. Rare earths each have their own individual demand drivers, challenges and technology innovations. These comprise europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium, ytterbium, lutetium and yttrium. The heavy rare earth elements make up the balance and are significantly less abundant. These elements typically comprise approximately 85-90% of rare earth resources. The most abundant rare earths are lanthanum, cerium and neodymium, all considered light rare earths, along with praseodymium and samarium. They consist of the 15 lanthanide elements on the periodic table, along with scandium and yttrium. The rare earths are a set of 17 elements that share similar properties and are usually found together in geological deposits, requiring advanced metallurgical processing to recover and separate. ASM’s sustainable supply chain offers technology manufacturers transparency, reliability, product value and shorter lead times. Our rare earths concentrates will be separated into magnet rare earths (neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium oxides) and other rare earths processed into an extensive range of downstream oxides and metals in conjunction with our strategic partners. We will be one of few manufacturers outside China to supply a range of heavy rare earths (including terbium and dysprosium). Our products will be mined and recovered at our chemical plant near Dubbo in New South Wales, Australia. When supplied by ASM, manufacturers need no longer rely on China for the long-term supply of rare earths. New domestic policies, such as 'Made in China 2025', announced in March 2017, are expected to have the unintended consequence of restricting rest-of-world supply due to consumption by downstream Chinese manufacturers. We will produce significant volumes of 15 rare earths, including neodymium, praseodymium, terbium and dysprosium, which are in high demand for permanent magnets used in high-volume markets such as renewable energy, electric vehicles, personal technology and robotics.Īt present, around 85% of world supply of these high-value rare earths originates from China, making the global rare earths market supply sensitive to changes in China’s manufacturing sector. ASM represents a new and unique source of critical rare earths that is independent of the dominant Chinese market.