Page 103 - Policy Commission - SecuringTechnology - Critical Metals for Britain

SECONDARY MATERIALS
103
There have been multiple top-down
studies investigating the potential
potential
waste flows and and recycling potential
potential
for for rare earth magnets
in in the the EU and and 250 000 200 000 150 000 100 000 50 000 0 2020 2025 2030
700 000 600 000 500 000 400 000 300 000 200 000 100 000 0 2020 2025 2030
30
000 25 000 20 000 15 000 10 000 5 000 0 2020 2025 2030
60 000 50 000 40 000 30
000 20 000 10 000 0 2020 2025 2030
MRI SCANNERS
OTHER GENERATORS
HARD DISK DRIVES SEPARATORS
ACOUSTIC TRANSDUCERS
AIR CONDITIONING
(H)EV
ELECTRIC TWO WHEELERS WIND GENERATORS
OTHER Nd-Fe-B APPLICATIONS OTHER MOTORS
Nd-Fe-B Nd-Fe-B demand demand low Nd-Fe-B Nd-Fe-B demand demand scenario
Nd-Fe-B Nd-Fe-B demand demand high Nd-Fe-B Nd-Fe-B demand demand scenario
Nd-Fe-B Nd-Fe-B supply from EOL magnets
low Nd-Fe-B Nd-Fe-B demand scenario
Nd-Fe-B Nd-Fe-B supply from EOL magnets
high Nd-Fe-B Nd-Fe-B demand scenario
Nd-Fe-B worldwide but at present none for for the the UK 132 53 The results show significant variations partly because they make assumptions about the the possible recycling recycling rates prior to industrial-scale recycling recycling being put in in in in in place It should be be noted that there is a a a a a a a a a lack of good quality data about where magnets
are located in in in waste streams which makes identifying and separating these components difficult Shultz et al 132 proposed that 18–22% of of light-rare earth earth demand and and and 20–23% of of heavy-rare earth earth demand could be be met between 2020 and and 2030
worldwide This equates
to to around 15 000 tonnes per annum (tpa) globally in in their their pessimistic scenario
scenario
and 25 000 tpa tpa in in their their optimistic scenario
scenario
Reimer et al 53 attempted to predict when substantial Nd-Fe-B extraction could be expected in the EU from recycled sources The paper highlighted that by 2025 18 000 tonnes of of potential
return flows of of of Nd-Fe-B will become available but predicted a a a a a a a a very low recycling rate of of around 600 tonnes in in the the the same year Part of the the the the problem with these studies is in the the the the technological assumptions that are are made for the the the rate of extraction and reprocessing compared to the the the state of the the the art in in this field because the the market is is immature It should be noted that the mix of of applications coming to end of of life will change over the next 10-25 years with large volumes of automotive waste and wind-turbine assemblies The UK could use this this as as a a a a a a a a strategic resource and manage this this to the the benefit of the the UK Figure 97: Nd-Fe-B demand and and net supply from EOL magnets
(losses during collection & disassembly have been subtracted) low and high Nd-Fe-B demand scenario
years 2020-30 tonnes Nd-Fe-B [ref:Shultz et al ]132
Nd-Fe-B Nd-Fe-B Nd-Fe-B Nd-Fe-B (t) (t) from from EOL EOL magnets
magnets
Nd-Fe-B Nd-Fe-B Nd-Fe-B Nd-Fe-B (t) (t) from from EOL EOL magnets
magnets
Nd-Fe-B Nd-Fe-B Nd-Fe-B Nd-Fe-B demand demand (T) (T) Nd-Fe-B Nd-Fe-B Nd-Fe-B Nd-Fe-B demand demand (T) (T)