Responsabile Scientifico

• ARTIZZU Flavia (DiSSTE)

Partecipanti al progetto

• BOCCALERI Enrico (DiSSTE)
• GABANO Elisabetta (DiSSTE)

Titolo del progetto

• Green processes for Rare Earth Elements Separation, recovery & valorization from permanent Magnets (GREEn SM)

Ente finanziatore

• MUR - Ministero dell'Università e Ricerca

Programma di finanziamento

• PRIN - Progetti di Ricerca di Rilevante Interesse Nazionale (dal 2020)

Bando di riferimento

• PRIN 2022

Anno di presentazione del progetto

• 2022

Anno di approvazione del progetto

• 2023

Project ID / numero contratto

• 2022T3H2CW_003

Durata del progetto

• 24 mesi

Inizio del progetto

• 16/10/2023

Fine del progetto

• 15/10/2025

Ente capofila

• UNICA - Università degli studi di Cagliari

Altri partner del progetto

• UNIPR - Università degli studi di Parma

Progetto approvato - Contributo unità di ricerca del Dipartimento

• €61.614,00

Sustainable Development Goals - Agenda 2030

Keyword

• Green Chemistry
• Circular Economy
• Recycling
• Critical Raw Materials
• Rare Earth Elements
• Luminescent Materials

Stato del progetto

• Approvato

Abstract

• The aim of this proposal is to develop innovative sustainable and selective chemical recycling methods for rare earth elements (REE) from end-of-life (EoL) devices giving them a new life into high value materials for advanced applications.Specifically, the enhancement of neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium from EoL permanent magnets (also named “Super Magnets”, SM) will be taken as a relevant representative case study for setting up the separation and recovery chemical processing. In this project, recovering processes will be developed based on green chemistry principles,as an alternative to the extremely high energy and resource consuming conventional approaches. Thanks to the expertise of the involved research units (RU), sustainability aspects, i.e. environmental impact, economic cost and reemployment of the recovered REE, will be pursued through the design, synthesis and application of specific classes of complexing agents able to interact selectively and effectively with metal ions shaping complexes with the desired structure & properties. Specifically,each step of treatment, from the mechanical and thermal pre-treatments of waste SM to the valorization of all the recovered fractions, will be designed in order to provide the best semi-finished material for feeding the following step, limiting undesired by-products and using only low-hazardous reagents, solvents and operative conditions. The use of innovative low pollutingextraction techniques such as the Cloud Point Extraction and/or the Aqueous Biphasic System, will be investigated. The procedure will, on the one hand, overcome the limitations related to the typical solvent extraction procedures for REE affination, which are based on the use of large amounts of unsafe extractants and solvents. On the other hand, it will provide suitable precursors for advanced applications in emerging photonic technologies where REE materials play a fundamental role. In this context, the aim of GREEn SM is to explore the potential of the REE-rich materials recycled from EoL SM to be employed as core units in state-of-the-art materials and devices for white light generation, near-infrared optical amplification, anticounteirfeiting and photonic sensing by simple and cheap synthetic and processing steps, following sustainability principles.