Rare Earth Metals May Be Lurking in Your Junk Drawer

Subject: Geography

Section: Eco geography

Context:

Studies from China and the Netherlands reveal that reusing or recycling rare earth metals could meet as much as 40 percent of the demand for the metals in the United States, China and Europe by 2050.

More on news:

Only about 1 percent of rare earth metals in old electronic products are currently reused or recycled, researchers estimate.
A vast and largely overlooked source of rare earth metals could be in our homes, sitting in the back of our cabinets and junk drawers.
It is estimated that reusing or recycling these rare earth metals from old cell phones, hard drives, electric motors and turbines could meet as much as 40 percent of the demand for the metals in the United States, China and Europe by 2050.
The United States relies heavily on imports of these materials which are called rare earths, making American supply chains vulnerable to disruption and geopolitical risks.
The scientists found that the United States, the European Union and Japan could accumulate rare-earth stockpiles in their old electronics and other products that will far exceed what they would find mining the earth.
Companies like Apple are developing robots that help to recover critical materials, including rare earths, from old iPhones.

About Rare Earths:

Rare Earths are a set of 17 chemical elements in the periodic table, specifically the 15 lanthanides plus scandium (Atomic Number 21) and Yttrium (Atomic Number 39).
This Lanthanide series comprises the 15 metallic chemical elements with atomic numbers 57 to 71 i.e. from lanthanum through lutetium.
Scandium and yttrium are considered rare-earth elements because they tend to occur in the same ore deposits as the lanthanides and exhibit similar chemical properties, but have different electronic and magnetic properties.
Cerium (AN 58) is the most abundant rare earth metal.
Their color ranges from Shiny Silver to Iron Gray. They are soft, malleable, ductile and usually reactive, especially at elevated temperatures or when finely divided.

Rare Earths in India:

The Rare Earth (RE) resources in India are reported to be the fifth largest in the world.
Indian resources contain Light Rare Earth Elements (LREE) while Heavy Rare Earth Elements (HREE) are not available in extractable quantities.
07 million tonnes in-situ monazite (containing ~55-60% total Rare Earth Elements oxide) resource occurring in the coastal beach placer sands in parts of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Gujarat and in the inland placers in parts of Jharkhand, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
In Indian deposits, only Neodymium and Praseodymium are available and are being extracted up to 99.9 % purity level.

Applications of Rare Earths:

Rare earths are essential for green technology, like electric vehicles and wind turbines.
They have a critical role in moving the world away from burning fossil fuels.
They are also used in industries like aircraft, missile and satellite manufacturing.

Recycling of rare earths:

Reusing and recycling rare earths can cut down on the need for mining, which can pollute soil and water with toxic heavy metals like arsenic.
Being able to tap already-mined rare earths would be another advantage of switching to renewable energy from burning fossil fuels, which drives global warming.
Unlike fossil fuels, which are ‘burnt out’ and permanently lost once consumed, the rare earths can be ‘recovered’ as alternative supply.
In the 1980s, Japanese researchers coined the term urban mining to describe collecting rare metals from discarded appliances and electronic devices, rather than from the earth.
Common metals like iron, copper and aluminum are already widely recycled.
Only about 1 percent of rare earths in old products are reused or recycled
The world instead relies on mining for its supply of rare earths, about 70 percent of which comes from China.

Challenges in rare earth recycling:

Rare earths are often combined with other metals, so extracting them can be difficult.
Some rare-earth recycling methods require hazardous chemicals and lots of energy.
Extracting the few grams, or even milligrams, of rare earths that are present in each old product can be a daunting task.