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Selective Chlorination of Rare Earth Elements from a Nd-Fe-B Magnet Using Zinc Chloride

  • Thematic Section: MOLTEN 2021: Slags, Fluxes, and Salts for Environment, Recycling, and Sustainability
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Abstract

To develop an efficient recycling process for the selective recovery of rare earth elements (REEs) from neodymium (Nd)-iron (Fe)-boron (B) magnets, a selective chlorination process using zinc chloride (ZnCl2) was investigated. A mixture of Nd-Fe-B magnet powder and ZnCl2 was set in a gas-tight quartz tube, and the tube was placed in a vertical furnace preheated to 1000 K. During the experiment, the magnet powder reacted with ZnCl2 for 1.5 – 5 h to selectively chlorinate the REEs in the magnet. The influence of the particle size of the magnet powder, reaction time, and premelting of ZnCl2 on the chlorination efficiency of REEs was investigated. Under certain conditions, the chlorination efficiencies of Nd, dysprosium (Dy), and praseodymium (Pr) were 96.5%, 57.2%, and 97.6%, respectively. In addition, Fe and neodymium chloride (NdCl3) were found to have been generated after the selective chlorination reactions. The results of this study demonstrate that the selective recovery of REEs, such as Nd, Dy, and Pr, from Nd-Fe-B magnets is feasible by utilizing the selective chlorination process using ZnCl2.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Ms. Jieun Ahn and all the members of the Geoanalysis Department of KIGAM for their technical assistance. This research was supported by the Korea Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology funded by the Korean Ministry of Industry in Korea (Project No.: 20000970, 20-9805).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, 124 Gwahak-ro Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34132, Korea

    Kyung-Hwan Lim, Chan Uk Choi, Tae-Hyuk Lee & Jungshin Kang

  2. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Seoul National University, 1 Gwanak-ro, Gwanak-gu, Seoul, 08826, Korea

    Kyung-Hwan Lim

  3. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Chungnam National University, 99 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34134, Korea

    Chan Uk Choi

  4. HANNAE For T, 22 Sandan 3-ro, 5-gil, Seongmun-myeon, Dangjin-si, Chungcheongnam-do, 31702, Korea

    Gyeonghye Moon

  5. Department of Resources Recycling, University of Science and Technology, 217 Gajeong-ro Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34113, Korea

    Jungshin Kang

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  1. Kyung-Hwan Lim
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  2. Chan Uk Choi
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  4. Tae-Hyuk Lee
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Correspondence to Jungshin Kang.

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The contributing editor for this article was Hojong Kim.

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Lim, KH., Choi, C.U., Moon, G. et al. Selective Chlorination of Rare Earth Elements from a Nd-Fe-B Magnet Using Zinc Chloride. J. Sustain. Metall. 7, 794–805 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40831-021-00380-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40831-021-00380-0

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