Essential to manufacture of new technologies, rare earths have become a strategic issue.However, China concentrated 97% of current production. To bypass the monopoly, somanufacturers are looking alternatives such as recycling.
Rare earth elements or rare earth metals are a set of seventeen chemical elements in the periodic table, specifically the fifteen lanthanides plus scandium and yttrium.
Many of these elements have unique properties that make them useful in many applications (see below):
- Components for electric and hybrid vehicles,
- Metal alloys,
A French company leader in the recycling of rare earth
World leader in formulations based on rare earths, Rhodia has developed a new process for recovery and separation of rare earths contained in the energy-saving lamps used. Outcome of research programs conducted by Rhodia for many years in the life cycle of its products, the recycling industry original powder phosphors opens new environmental and economic perspectives at the European level.
Once collected and sorted, the lamps used to date are handled by specialized companies that value then the components (glass, metals, plastics, mercury). Phosphor powders, concentrated in rare earths, are for their disposal. With the new process developed by Rhodia, they can now be recycled in the Group’s plants in Saint-Fons (69) and then to La Rochelle (17), it holds a unique expertise in Europe in terms of separation of rare earth.