SBIR Phase II: Sustainable Rare Earth Element Recycling from Neodymium Magnets

小企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段项目将在中试规模上对回收的NdFeB磁体实施专有的稀土提取工艺，以证明商业生产的可行性。通过回收废物流中容易获得的稀土元素，这一努力将有助于创造这些关键元素的第二来源，从而减少美国对中国不稳定、有限供应的依赖。这将反过来为依赖这些材料的尖端技术的生产返回美国奠定必要的基础。从这一过程中回收的Nd和Dy元素是将电动机效率提高30%的关键成分。这些资源的可用性还将显著改善严重依赖稀土元素的国家安全技术制造业的垂直整合，如导弹执行器和喷气式战斗机控制面板。该项目还将通过为电子回收公司创造新的可靠收入来源来影响电子回收行业。从NdFeB磁体中回收稀土的过程简单且节能，对环境的影响最小。第一阶段SBIR项目证明了将该工艺从实验室规模发展到中试规模的可行性，提高了最终产品的纯度，减少了加工过程中的废物量。 第二阶段项目将侧重于以下目标：1）设计扩大规模战略并建设中试规模生产工厂; 2）优化中试规模生产工艺; 3）最大限度地提高中试规模的产品回收率; 4）设计废水处理和再利用战略;以及5）最大限度地减少最终产品中的残留污染。 为了实现这些II期目标，我们将在中试规模下开发最大收率、最高纯度和最短处理时间的工艺参数。第一阶段将是在中试规模批次中成功获得90+%的生产收率和99+%的纯度水平。在第二阶段，我们将专注于规模化生产，以证明商业规模的可行性，理想的产品收率和纯度分别为95+%和99+%。在所有阶段，我们将专注于了解和处理伴随的废物，包括废水和残留的金属杂质。

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will implement a proprietary rare earth extraction process on recycled NdFeB magnets at pilot scale to prove commercial production feasibility. By recovering rare earth elements (REEs) readily available in waste streams, this effort will help create a secondary source of these critical elements, thereby reducing U.S. dependence on an unstable, limited supply from China. This will, in turn, lay the groundwork necessary for the production of cutting-edge technologies reliant upon these materials to return to the U.S. The Nd and Dy elements which are recovered from this process are the critical components that increase the efficiency of electric motors by up to 30%. The availability of these resources will also significantly improve the vertical integration of manufacturing for national security technologies that depend heavily upon REEs, such as guided missile actuators and jet-fighter control panels. This project will also impact the electronics recycling sector by creating a new, reliable revenue stream for electronics recycling companies. The process to reclaim REEs from NdFeB magnets is simple and energy-efficient, with a minimal environmental footprint. The Phase I SBIR project demonstrated the feasibility of developing the process beyond laboratory scale to pilot scale, improved the purity of the end product and reduced the amount of waste from processing. The Phase II project will focus on the following objectives: 1) designing a scale up strategy and building a pilot scale production plant; 2) optimizing the pilot scale production process; 3) maximizing product recovery at pilot scale; 4) designing a wastewater treatment and reuse strategy; and 5) minimizing residual contamination in the final products. To achieve these Phase II objectives, we will develop process parameters for maximum yield, maximum purity, and minimum processing times at pilot scale. The first stage will be to successfully obtain production yields of 90+% and purity levels of 99+% in pilot scale batches. For the second stage, we will focus on scaling production to prove commercial-scale feasibility, with ideal product yields and purities of 95+% and 99+% respectively. Throughout all stages, we will focus on understanding and treating the accompanying waste products, including wastewater and residual metal impurities.