Recently, Apple announced that it will apply more recycled rare earth materials to its products and has set a specific schedule: by 2025, the company will achieve the use of 100% recycled cobalt in all Apple designed batteries; The magnets in the product equipment will also be completely made of recycled rare earth materials.
As a rare earth material with the largest usage of Apple products, NdFeB has a high magnetic energy product (that is, a smaller volume can store larger energy), which can meet the pursuit of miniaturization and lightweight of consumer electronics. The applications on mobile phones are mainly reflected in two parts: mobile phone vibration motors and micro electro acoustic components. Each smartphone requires approximately 2.5g of neodymium iron boron material.
Industry insiders say that 25% to 30% of the edge waste generated in the production process of neodymium iron boron magnetic materials, as well as waste magnetic components such as consumer electronics and motors, are important sources of rare earth recycling. Compared to the production of similar products from raw ore, the recycling and utilization of rare earth waste has many advantages, such as shortened processes, reduced costs, reduced environmental pollution, and effective protection of rare earth resources. And every ton of recovered praseodymium neodymium oxide is equivalent to mining 10000 tons of rare earth ion ore or 5 tons of rare earth raw ore less.
Recycling and reusing rare earth materials is becoming an important support for rare earth raw materials. Due to the fact that rare earth secondary resources are a special type of resource, recycling and reusing rare earth materials is an effective way to save resources and prevent pollution. It is an urgent requirement and inevitable choice for social development. In recent years, China has continuously strengthened the management of the entire industry chain in the rare earth industry, while encouraging rare earth enterprises to recycle secondary resources containing rare earth materials.
In June 2012, the State Council Information Office released the “White Paper on the Status and Policies of Rare Earths in China”, which clearly stated that the state encourages the development of specialized processes, technologies, and equipment for the collection, treatment, separation, and purification of rare earth waste materials. The research focuses on the use of rare earth pyrometallurgical molten salts, slag, rare earth permanent magnet waste materials, and waste permanent magnet motors, waste nickel hydrogen batteries, waste rare earth fluorescent lamps, and ineffective rare earth catalysts Recycle and reuse secondary rare earth resources such as waste rare earth polishing powder and other waste components containing rare earth elements.
With the vigorous development of China’s rare earth industry, a large number of rare earth materials and processing waste have enormous recycling value. On the one hand, relevant departments actively conduct research on the domestic and foreign rare earth commodity markets, analyze the rare earth commodity market from the supply of rare earth resources in China and the recycling and utilization of rare earth secondary resources at home and abroad, and formulate corresponding measures. On the other hand, rare earth enterprises have strengthened their technological research and development, gained a detailed understanding of various types of rare earth secondary resource recycling technologies, screened and promoted relevant technologies for economic and environmental protection, and developed high-end products for recycling and reusing rare earths.
In 2022, the proportion of recycled praseodymium neodymium production in China has reached 42% of the source of praseodymium neodymium metal. According to relevant statistics, the production of neodymium iron boron waste in China reached 53000 tons last year, a year-on-year increase of about 10%. Compared to the production of similar products from raw ore, the recycling and utilization of rare earth waste has many advantages: shortened processes, reduced costs, reduced “three wastes”, reasonable utilization of resources, reduced environmental pollution, and effective protection of the country’s rare earth resources.
Against the backdrop of national control over rare earth production and increasing downstream demand for rare earth, the market will generate more demand for rare earth recycling. However, currently, there are still small scale production enterprises in China that recycle and reuse rare earth materials, single processing raw materials, low-end products, and policy support that can be further optimized. At present, it is urgent for the country to vigorously carry out the recycling and utilization of rare earth resources under the guidance of rare earth resource security and the “dual carbon” goal, efficiently and balanced utilization of rare earth resources, and play a unique role in the high-quality development of China’s economy.
Post time: May-06-2023