REE Recovery from End-of-Life NdFeB Permanent Magnet Scrap: A Critical Review

NdFeB permanent magnets have different life cycles, depending on the applications: from as short as 2–3 years in consumer electronics to 20–30 years in wind turbines. The size of the magnets ranges from less than 1 g in small consumer electronics to about 1 kg in electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid and electric vehicles (HEVs), and can be as large as 1000–2000 kg in the generators of modern wind turbines. NdFeB permanent magnets contain about 31–32 wt% of rare-earth elements (REEs). Recycling of REEs contained in this type of magnets from the End-of-Life (EOL) products will play an important and complementary role in the total supply of REEs in the future. However, collection and recovery of the magnets from…