Research Platform for the Advanced Recycling and Reuse of Rare Earths (RARE³).

To contribute to the transition towards low-carbon, closed-loop economies the recycling of rare earths (REEs) will be crucial. Currently, End-of-Life recycling rates for REEs are less than 1%. RARE³ targets to develop recycling flow sheets to recover the five critical rare-earth elements (Nd, Eu, Tb, Dy, Y) from phosphors and magnets, being the two economically most important REE containing postconsumer streams. More efficient, direct and environmentally benign separation methods are targeted as well. Consequential LCA and economic modelling will be used to gain insights in the different scenarios for the global rare earth material flows and their environmental impact, which will lead to recommendations for decision makers (within companies) which technologies to implement and stimulate and how to secure REE availability in the EU. RARE³ is structurally embedded in the flagship SIM² research line at KU Leuven and features a User Committee consisting of all major REE players in the EU and the US.

Keywords:Recycling, Balance problem, Critical raw materials, Lanthanides, Rare-earth elements, Rare earths

Disciplines:Inorganic chemistry, Organic chemistry, Theoretical and computational chemistry, Other chemical sciences, Catalysis and reacting systems engineering, Chemical product design and formulation, General chemical and biochemical engineering, Process engineering, Separation and membrane technologies, Transport phenomena, Other (bio)chemical engineering, Metallurgical engineering