The rare earth elements (REE) are a group of co-occurring metals with similar chemical properties from Lanthanum to Lutetium. Because of their unique physicochemical properties they are widely used in a growing number of applications and have become indispensable for a wide variety of emerging technologies.
Neodymium magnets are the strongest and most affordable type of rare-earth magnets. They are made of an alloy of neodymium, iron, and boron (Nd2Fe14B), sometimes abbreviated as NIB. Neodymium magnets are used in numerous applications requiring strong, compact permanent magnets, such as electric motors for cordless tools, hard disk drives, magnetic hold-downs, and jewelry clasps. They have the highest magnetic field strength and have a higher coercivity (which makes them magnetically stable), but they have a lower Curie temperature and are more vulnerable to oxidation.
Discarded permanents are a rich source of rare earths. Recycling of these magnets have become essential for sustainable utilization of rare earth metals under circular economy.
The objective of this activity is to extract rare earth elements (REE) like Neodymium (Nd), Dysprosium (Dy), Praseodymium (Pr) etc, from discarded permanent magnets, using hydrometallurgical routes like leaching, solvent extraction followed by calcination.
