Rare earth elements-A review of exploration, processing, environmental impact, recycling and prospect analysis

Abstract

In high-tech and low-carbon economies, rare earth elements are becoming increasingly important. Global demand for REEs is increasing as society transitions to a more sustainable model with the goal of reducing reliance on fossil fuels. The study on rare earth elements (REEs) is reviewed in this document, including estimations of the world's reserves, categorization of REE deposits, key REE production paths and processing techniques, environmental effects, and the possibility for recycling in the rare earth business. This paper's main goal is to present a comprehensive environmental and socioeconomic perspective on REEs, emphasizing the environmental effects of various REE-related activities and looking at how REEs can be used more effectively and scientifically, such as by investigating the viability of recycling REEs. and offer an outlook for the future. In order to address the issues with their demand and lower the dangers involved with supplying rare earths, researchers are further developing the methods for mining and using rare earth elements as well as recycling and reusing them.