Global demand for rare earth resources and strategies for green mining

Tanushree Dutta; Ki-Hyun Kim; Minori Uchimiya; Eilhann E Kwon; Byong-Hun Jeon; Akash Deep; Seong-Taek Yun

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2016.05.052

Global demand for rare earth resources and strategies for green mining

Environ Res. 2016 Oct:150:182-190. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2016.05.052. Epub 2016 Jun 10.

Authors

Tanushree Dutta¹, Ki-Hyun Kim², Minori Uchimiya³, Eilhann E Kwon⁴, Byong-Hun Jeon⁵, Akash Deep⁶, Seong-Taek Yun⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, 222 Wangsimni-Ro, Seoul 04763, Republic of Korea.
² Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, 222 Wangsimni-Ro, Seoul 04763, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: kkim61@hanyang.ac.kr.
³ USDA-ARS Southern Regional Research Center, 1100 Robert E. Lee Boulevard, New Orleans, LA 70124, United States.
⁴ Department of Environment and Energy, Sejong University, Seoul 05006, Republic of Korea.
⁵ Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Engineering, Hanyang University, 222 Wangsimni-Ro, Seoul 04763, Republic of Korea.
⁶ Central Scientific Instruments Organisation (CSIR-CSIO), Sector 30C, Chandigarh 160030, India.
⁷ Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and KU-KIST Green School, Korea University, Seoul 02841, Republic of Korea.

PMID: 27295408
DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2016.05.052

Abstract

Rare earth elements (REEs) are essential raw materials for emerging renewable energy resources and 'smart' electronic devices. Global REE demand is slated to grow at an annual rate of 5% by 2020. This high growth rate will require a steady supply base of REEs in the long run. At present, China is responsible for 85% of global rare earth oxide (REO) production. To overcome this monopolistic supply situation, new strategies and investments are necessary to satisfy domestic supply demands. Concurrently, environmental, economic, and social problems arising from REE mining must be addressed. There is an urgent need to develop efficient REE recycling techniques from end-of-life products, technologies to minimize the amount of REEs required per unit device, and methods to recover them from fly ash or fossil fuel-burning wastes.

Keywords: Ion-adsorption; Preservation; Rare earth ore deposits; Recycling; Urban mining.

Publication types

Review
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

China
Metals, Rare Earth / analysis*
Mining / methods*
Recycling

Substances

Metals, Rare Earth