Valuable, Rare, Raw Earth Materials Extracted from Industrial Waste Stream

Researchers from Leeds’ Faculty of Engineering have discovered how to recover significant quantities of rare-earth oxides, present in titanium dioxide minerals. The rare-earth oxides, which are indispensable for the manufacture of wind turbines, energy-efficient lighting, and hybrid and electric cars, are extracted or reclaimed simply and cheaply from the waste materials of another industrial process.

If taken to industrial scale, the new process could eventually shift the balance of power in global supply, breaking China’s near monopoly on these scarce but crucial resources. China currently holds 95 per cent of the world’s reserves of rare earth metals in a multi-billion dollar global market in which demand is growing steadily.

Despite their name, the fifteen rare earth metals occur more commonly within the Earth’s crust than precious metals such as gold and platinum, but their oxides are rarely found in sufficient concentrations to allow for commercial mining and purification. They are, however, found relatively frequently alongside titanium dioxide — a versatile mineral used in everything from cosmetics and medicines to electronics and the aerospace industries, which Professor Jha has been researching for the last eight years.

Science Daily