Recovery of Precious and Critical Raw Materials from End-of-Life Photovoltaic Panels

Rare earth elements (REEs) are a group of 17 metallic elements found in mineral deposits and other secondary resources widespread throughout the world. China accounts for the maximum contribution to REE supply in the world, followed by the United States and Australia. The rarity associated with REEs arises from two factors: availability and separation from elements. Commercially, REEs are extracted from primary minerals such as bastnasite and monazite by multi-step operations generating a high quantum of toxic waste. The recovery of REEs from secondary sources can serve as a promising alternative. Furthermore, the extraction of REEs from secondary sources will diminish the imbalance in the supply and demand and decrease the environmental load from wastes. The effective urban mining of e-waste is important to establish an effective recycling ecosystem. The aim of this book is to present the distribution of REEs from various resources, processing of secondary resources, and discuss the processes developed for the extraction of REEs from raw materials such as e-wastes, tailings, process wastes, and residues. A major part of this book and almost all chapters attempt to emphasize the importance of processing of secondary resources for assisting the environmental remediation of untreated wastes and obtain finished products. The book covers all aspects of rare metals and rare earth metals in one volume. The book is a complete reference manual for all workers and students in the field of extraction and separation of rare metals and rare earth metals. This book has been organized into 19 contributed chapters by researchers and academicians from premier research organizations around the world. These chapters include REE resources in minerals as well as secondary resources, global forecast of REE supply and demand, environmental impacts of REEs, and a comparison of the merits/demerits of REE processing from primary resources. Owing to the difficulties encountered in the separation of REEs from any mixture or media, purification of REEs has been discussed in few chapters. This shall follow case studies on commercial REE recycling and associated issues on mine wastes, urban wastes, and process residues. Finally, the book presents a rare earth chemical analysis guide for beginners and practitioners. Recycled metal supply is advantageous for its impact on economics, environment, reliability, energy, as well as accessibility of recyclable material and maximum value retention