By Cecile Mantovani and Olivia Le Poidevin
GENEVA (Reuters) -Researchers at ETH University in Zurich have developed a new method to efficiently recover rare earth elements from electronic waste, advancing sustainable recycling and reducing mining reliance.
Rare earth elements play a crucial role in modern electronics, powering fluorescent lamps, magnets in hard drives and are used in the production of generators for wind farms.
Currently less than 1% of rare earth materials are recycled, due to the immense energy and chemical effort to separate elements in the materials, which comes at significant expense, according to ETH Zurich University.
ETH Pioneer Fellow, Dr. Marie Perrin and her supervisor Associate Professor at the Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, Professor Dr. Victor Mougel developed a new method that allows the efficient separation of these elements, using a specially designed extractant to alter their solubility.
“We can separate these elements extremely well, and in particular, one of these elements, europium, that is found in fluorescent lamps,” Mougel said.
The discovery comes as the European Union is pushing towards greater recycling of rare earth metals, as rising environmental concerns and geopolitical pressures are driving it to seek greater resource independence.
Perrin told Reuters this innovation seeks to help the EU to meet its objects under the Critical Raw Material Act agreed in 2023 under which the bloc aims to mine 10%, process 40% and recycle 25% of its needs by 2030.
The rare earth metals market is currently dominated by China, which controls up to 70% of global rare-earths mining, 85% of refining capacity, consultancy AlixPartners said.
The next goal is to bring the technology to scale by working with industrial partners, so that they can eventually have in-house recycling capacity, Perrin added.
(Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin; editing by David Evans)
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