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Can bioleaching of NIB magnets be an answer to the criticality of rare earths?: An ex-ante Life Cycle Assessment and Material Flow Cost Accounting
Univ Bologna, Dept Civil Chem Environm & Mat Engn DICAM, Via Terracini 28, I-40131 Bologna, Italy..
KTH, School of Industrial Engineering and Management (ITM), Materials Science and Engineering, Process.ORCID iD: 0000-0003-2088-5793
2022 (English)In: Journal of Cleaner Production, ISSN 0959-6526, E-ISSN 1879-1786, Vol. 365, p. 132672-, article id 132672Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

The instability of rare earth elements (REEs) supply chains due to, among others, geopolitical factors brought alternative sources of REEs under the spotlight. Waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is considered one of such sources. WEEE recycling is seen as a way not only to mitigate the aforementioned REEs supply risk but also to benefit the environment and society caught currently in a precarious position. Within this context, bioleaching for REEs recovery is gaining attraction, considering that, so far, this process has mainly been used to recover other elements (e.g., Cu, Ni, Zn, Al, Au, Ag). Hitherto, a few lab-scale studies on Nd, Dy, and Pr bioleaching from NIB magnets were identified in the open literature, whereas only one study attempted to perform a simplified LCA analysis of the process. Ergo, this study aims at filling this knowledge gap. For this purpose, the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Material Flow Cost Accounting (MFCA) were performed to assess the process' environmental and economic feasibility after scaling it up from a lab to a pilot scale. Moreover, a break-even analysis was performed to assess the competitiveness of the technology. As the bioleaching of NIB magnets is an emerging concept, this study aimed to identify future process optimisation and development directions. The process was divided into six stages (i.e., demagnetising, shredding, bacteria cultivation, bioleaching, REEs extraction, and oxidation), analysed individually and collectively. Electricity and oxalic acid consumption, together with investment costs, were identified as the main hotspots for future improvement.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier BV , 2022. Vol. 365, p. 132672-, article id 132672
Keywords [en]
Handling Editor, Kathleen Aviso, Rare earth elements, (REEs), Ex-ante life cycle assessment, (LCA), Waste electrical and electronic equipment, (WEEE), Circular economy, Waste management, Critical raw materials, (CRMs)
National Category
Inorganic Chemistry
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-315886DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.132672ISI: 000821845000006Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85132505888OAI: oai:DiVA.org:kth-315886DiVA, id: diva2:1684824
Note

QC 20220728

Available from: 2022-07-28 Created: 2022-07-28 Last updated: 2022-07-28Bibliographically approved

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Jagodzińska, Katarzyna

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