The Department of Energy has a mission to ensure America's prosperity and security by addressing energy and environmental challenges. Increased use of renewable energy is important to preserve our current climate and avoid continued negative impacts. Rare Earth Elements are necessary and in demand for wind turbines and electric vehicle manufacturing. Currently, Rare Earth Elements are mined, separated and purified primarily in China, then imported to the USA. Current separation and purification techniques use excessive organic solvents and require large and expensive processing equipment. This Phase I project aims to develop a separation and purification process. Our innovative process will allow for the production of domestic, cost- effective, and environmentally sustainable Rare Earth Elements from coal mining byproducts including refuse and acid mine drainage. The use of supercritical carbon dioxide eliminates the need for hazardous organic solvents and substantially reduces the need for expensive and hazardous acids. CF Technologies, Inc. will receive concentrated rare earth elements from processed coal byproducts from mining experts at the University of Kentucky. Commercial application and benefits of this successful technology will provide a domestic source of light and heavy Rare Earth Elements for the magnet, automotive and laser industries. Worldwide demand for these pure elements is on the order of 170,000 tonnes. Utilizing the coal mine waste streams represents an opportunity to produce 30,000 tonnes, without the requirement to do any additional mining. Our separation and purification technology can also be used at existing and future Rare Earth Element mines to eliminate the need to export for separation services. The environmental benefits of extracting valuable materials from existing waste streams allow for sustainable product manufacturing and preservation of our natural resources.
