2024 AIChE Annual Meeting
(663c) Electrochemical Recovery of Rare Earth Elements from Neodymium-Iron-Boron Based Magnets Coupled with Iron Recovery
Researchers have developed several processes including the hydrometallurgical and pyrometallurgical route for recycling NdFeB magnets. However, recovering iron, the major component of these magnets, poses a significant challenge. The conventional hydrometallurgical and pyrometallurgical recovery processes extract REEs leaving behind a solid waste normally as Fe(III) hydroxide/ Fe(III) oxide hydroxides, or as jarosite.
The Institute for Sustainability & Circular Economy at Texas Tech University has developed an electrochemical recycling route for NdFeB magnets. A novel method for REE recovery via acid leaching coupled with the electrowinning of iron will be presented. The following aspects will be included: the REE extraction process, the effect of iron speciation on REE recovery, and iron electrowinning as a means of metallic iron recovery from acid waste.