Semicontinuous Process of Rare Earths Recovery from End-of-Life NdFeB Magnets on a Large Laboratory Scale

Hydrometallurgical methods for NdFeB recycling typically consist of several unit operations and require the extensive use of energy, water and chemicals which may negatively affect the applicability of these methods on an industrial scale. Based on the data from our previous studies, a simplified process of rare earth elements (REE) recovery from spent NdFeB magnets was developed further. The possibility of regenerating the leaching agent, as well as water recovery, in the process was investigated. This study also investigates a possibility of scaling up the recycling process developed on a laboratory scale. The leaching and precipitation stages were tested on a larger scale, where about 1 kg of end-of-life magnets was used as feed to the leaching step. In this study, end-of-life magnets were obtained from the manual disassembly of computer hard disc drives. After disassembly, the magnets were demagnetized, broken into pieces and fed to the leaching process. In the following step, rare earths were precipitated in the form of oxalates. The rare earths’ precipitation efficiency reached a maximum of 95.6%. The results showed that the co-precipitation of Fe highly depends on the amount of oxalic acid used as the precipitant. Smaller losses of Fe were achieved while using a stoichiometric amount of oxalic acid in relation to the REE present in the solution. At the end of the investigated process, rare earth oxalates were calcinated to oxides and their purity was investigated. The recirculation of a solution after oxalate precipitation and acid regeneration was tested with hydrochloric and sulfuric acids used as leaching agents. Solution recirculation was found to be possible only in the case of hydrochloric acid.