SCIENTISTS from Deakin University and Spain\u2019s Tecnalia research and innovation hub have improved the process for recovering rare earth metals (REMs), resources, which are used in mobile phones and other advanced technologies including electric-powered cars.<\/p>\n
Doctor Cristina Pozo-Gonzalo \u2013 who is based at Deakin\u2019s Waurn Ponds campus and leads the electromaterials project \u2013 said there was an urgent need to develop a cleaner and simpler process for recovering REMs to reduce the amount of toxic and radioactive waste being extracted from current methods.<\/p>\n
\u201cConsumption of REMs has been gradually increasing since the 1960s due to their use in electronics, optics, and magnetics, making them ubiquitous in everyday applications such as television screens and computer systems,\u201d Dr Pozo-Gonzalo said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re also a key component of many modern technologies, including hard disk drives, clean technologies such as wind power turbines, and batteries for hybrid-electric vehicles.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Deakin Institute for Frontier Materials (FIM) researcher said an increased demand for REMs, such as cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, and lanthanum, was putting pressure on global supply chains.<\/p>\n
She also said about 85 per cent of the world\u2019s REM primary resources are in China, but the Chinese government\u2019s policy on restricted exports is \u201cendangering availability and price stability\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s growing concern that future access to these materials won\u2019t be reliable, leading to them being targeted for reclamation and recycling,\u201d Dr Cristina Pozo-Gonzalo said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter separating the metals from their end-of-life product, our team uses advanced electrolytes known as ionic liquids (liquid salt-based systems) to recover the rare earth metals from the resulting solution using a process of electrodeposition \u2013 when you use a low electric current to cause metals to reform and deposit on a desired surface.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis new method for recovering REMs has great potential and minimises the generation of toxic and harmful waste. We are also aiming for a method that can easily be implemented widely across the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Deakin IFM researchers Dr Cristina Pozo-Gonzalo, Professor Maria Forsyth, Associate Professor Jennifer Pringle, and Dr Matthias Hilder; and Tecnalia Research and Innovation researchers Laura Sanchez- Cupido, Amal Siriwardana and Ainhoa Unzurrunzag collaborated on the project.<\/p>\n
Their full findings, \u201cWater-Facilitated Electrodeposition of Neodymium in a Phosphonium- Based Ionic Liquid\u201d, have been published in The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
SCIENTISTS from Deakin University and Spain\u2019s Tecnalia research and innovation hub have improved the process for recovering rare earth metals (REMs), resources, which are used in mobile phones and other advanced technologies including electric-powered cars. Doctor Cristina Pozo-Gonzalo \u2013 who is based at Deakin\u2019s Waurn Ponds campus and leads the electromaterials project \u2013 said there […]<\/p>\n