Improved room-temperature-selectivity between Nd and Fe in Nd recovery from Nd-Fe-B magnet

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel pretreatment method involving corrosion to enhance room-temperature selectivity between Nd and Fe in Nd-Fe-B magnet recycling, achieving high Nd recovery rates.

Contribution

The study introduces a corrosion-based pretreatment that improves Nd and Fe separation at room temperature, surpassing existing methods in selectivity and recovery efficiency.

Findings

Nd recovery ratio reaches 97%

Corrosion produces selective $ ext{γ}$-FeOOH and Nd hydroxide

Enhanced room-temperature selectivity in Nd-Fe separation

Abstract

The sustainable society requires the recycling of rare metals. Rare earth Nd is one of rare metals, accompanying huge consumption especially in Nd-Fe-B magnets. Although the wet process using acid is in practical use in the in-plant recycle of sludge, higher selectivity between Nd and Fe at room temperature is desired. We have proposed a pretreatment of corrosion before the dissolution into HCl and the oxalic acid precipitation. The corrosion produces $\gamma$-FeOOH and a Nd hydroxide, which have high selectivity for HCl solution at room temperature. Nd can be recovered as Mn$_{2}$O$_{3}$-type Nd$_{2}$O$_{3}$. The estimated recovery-ratio of Nd reaches to 97\%.