Securing a reliable domestic REE source has become a national imperative to maintain
the nation’s economic competitiveness and military position. It’s more important
than ever for the U.S to find alternate sources to foreign produced and/or processed
REEs, since the demand for REEs is expected to grow. REEs are critical elements
in national defense weapons systems, electronics, advanced motors and power generation
equipment. It’s equally important to monitor the development of a domestic supply
chain that transitions REE processing and production to the U.S.
Global Demand and Domestic Consumption of REE
Primary Electric Arc Furnace Concept
Patented Technology Adapts Steelmaking Process to Extract
REEs
REEs can be extracted from various feedstock, including coal fly ash, using adapted
high-temperature steelmaking technology. When REE-rich materials are introduced
into the carbothermic system, they break down into three distinct segments: metals,
inorganics, and organics. The metallic fraction is further separated to concentrate
REEs, while additional metals will be captured and reclaimed as metallic ingots.
The inorganic fraction will float over the metals as they become molten and is recovered
as a vitreous slag. The slag is a coarse sand-like material, very similar to basalt,
that can easily pass the Environmental Protection Agency’s Toxicity Characteristic
Leaching Procedure tests. This slag will be used to create an aggregate for concrete
or chemically converted to fibers similar to rock wool or mineral wool. The organic
fraction is gasified and leaves the electric arc furnace (EAF) reactor vessel as
a syngas. Concentrated REEs, in a metallic state, are then super-heated to vaporize
and individually condense into their respective metallic form. The technology is
based on a modified EAF operating in a highly reducing environment. The boiling
points of REEs and their reformation into REOs are known and most are separated
enough that vaporizing them independently is possible, with minimal dangers of an
incomplete (azeotropic) distillation.
