As chemists scramble to find ways to reclaim valuable metals from industrial waste and discarded electronics, a recently found solution sounds a little like magic: Zap the trash with flashes of electric heat.
As chemists scramble to find ways to reclaim valuable metals from industrial waste and discarded electronics, one team has found a solution that sounds a little like magic: Zap the trash with flashes of electric heat.
Old electronics and other industrial waste, in contrast, are rich in REEs. But existing recycling methods are inefficient and expensive, and require corrosive chemicals such as concentrated hydrochloric acid. For every environmental problem that REEs could solve, they seemingly introduce two more.
That spike of heat does two things. When coal is burned as fuel, microscopic bits of glass form inside and trap REEs, making them hard to extract. But the bursts of electric heat shock and shatter the glass, freeing the rare earths. Flash heating also induces chemical changes: Phosphates of REEs transform into REE oxides, which are more soluble and easily extractable.Rare earth elements are vital components of green technologies.
Many government officials are keen on grabbing REEs from waste, rather than mining them, for economic as well as environmental reasons. China has long dominated the international REE market, and Japan, the European Union, and the United States have complained to the World Trade Organization that China uses its nearmonopoly to curtail exports and drive up prices.
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