Supply Of Critical Metals Research Articles

Application of phosphonium ionic liquids to separate Ga, Ge and In utilizing solvent extraction: A review

Due to the sudden rise in demand, a shortfall in the supply of critical metals or high technology metals, especially gallium (Ga), germanium (Ge) and indium (In) is experienced throughout the globe. The different primary and secondary resources are being utilized to recover and recycle these metals through the widely accepted technique, solvent extraction (SX). The extraction of metals may be potentially achieved by compounds of negligible volatility, phosphonium ionic liquids (Phos ILs). Ionic liquids (ILs) are potential and useful compounds to separate and recover Ga, Ge and In from synthetic solutions and waste materials due to their tunable nature to achieve higher selectivity, superior physicochemical properties and diverse structural properties. Ion exchange mechanism was mainly found applicable for the extractive separation of such metals through Phos ILs. Based on the efficiency, extraction mechanism and diverse operating conditions of Phos ILs, the present review provides a comprehensive description of separation as well as recovery of Ga, Ge and In from the synthetic solutions as well as waste materials.

Technological innovation and supply of critical metals: A perspective of industrial chains

Critical metal supply includes the mining, smelting and the recovery of secondary resources, in which technological innovation plays an important role. However, there is a lack of empirical research on it. From the perspective of industrial chains, this article divides the critical metal supply into two stages: mining & beneficiation and smelting & recycling, and respectively discusses the effects of technological innovation on supply of critical metals. Then heterogeneity analyses among 11 kinds of metals are performed, and the industry development scale is considered to explore the influence path. The results indicate that: (1) the effects of technological innovation on critical metal supply show inverted U-shaped relationships in the mining & beneficiation stage; Gallium reaches the inverted U turning point faster than others, while the inverted U-shaped relationship does not hold for cobalt, nickel and platinum group metals. (2) The effects in the smelting & recycling stage are linear promoting; the effect on tin supply is the most significant, while on aluminum supply is negative. (3) Technological innovation can improve supply of critical metals by expanding the scale of metallurgical industry, which is called technological scale effect. A series of robustness tests and further analyses prove the above results valid.

Estimation of critical metal stock and recycling potential in China’s automobile industry

The rapid expansion of electric vehicles (EVs) in China will induce a potential imbalance in the demand and supply of critical metals, which emphasized the importance of recycling critical metals. Evaluating their stock and recycling potential is essential to the electrification transformation in the automobile industry and provides references to the overall national resource strategy. In this study, we identified the critical metals in the electrification transformation of the automobile industry, estimated the stock of critical metals from 2022 to 2050 under multiple scenarios in China, and assessed the recycling potential of critical metals in EVs as well as their economic value. The results show that China’s passenger vehicles will reach 547.5–623.8 million in 2050. According to China’s current energy conservation and emission reduction policies, fuel vehicle (FV) ownership will peak in 2042, at 488.2 million. If strict energy conservation and emission reduction policies are adopted, electric vehicle ownership will increase from 148.3 million to 293.9 million by 2050, leading to a rapid increase in the stock of critical metals. The total stock of key critical metals under the scenario with stringent policies will be 29.27 million tons in 2050, 10.55 million higher compared to the scenario with no ban on fuel vehicles. Based on our results, the recycling of critical metals can be an effective option for the inadequate critical metal supply, especially given the policy context of increasingly expanding EV ownership in the near-term future.

Matching global cobalt demand under different scenarios for co-production and mining attractiveness

Many new and efficient technologies require ‘critical metals’ to function. These metals are often extracted as by-product of another metal, and their future supply is therefore dependent on mining developments of the host metal. Supply of critical metals can also be constrained because of political instability, discouraging mining policies, or trade restrictions. Scenario analyses of future metal supply that take these factors into account would provide policy makers with information about possible supply shortages. We provide a scenario analysis for demand and supply of cobalt, a potentially critical metal mainly used not only in high performance alloys but also in lithium-ion batteries and catalysts. Cobalt is mainly extracted as by-product of copper and nickel. A multiregional input–output (MRIO) model for 20 world regions and 163 commodities was built from the EXIOBASE v2.2.0 multiregional supply and use table with the commodity technology construct. This MRIO model was hybridized by disaggregating cobalt flows from the nonferrous metal sector. Future cobalt demand in different world regions from 2007 to 2050 was then estimated, assuming region- and sector-specific GDP growth, constant technology, and constant background import shares. A dynamic stock model of regional reserves for seven different types of copper, cobalt, and nickel resources, augmented with optimization-based region-specific mining capacity estimates, was used to determine future cobalt supply. The investment attractiveness index developed by the Fraser Institute specifically for mining industry entered the optimization routine as a measure of the regional attractiveness of mining. The baseline scenario shows no cobalt supply constraints over the considered time period 2007–2050, and recovering about 60 % of cobalt content of the copper and nickel ore flows would be sufficient to match global cobalt demand. When simulating a hypothetical sudden supply dropout in Africa during the period 2020–2035, we found that shortages in cobalt supply might occur in such scenarios.

Data availability and the need for research to localize, quantify and recycle critical metals in information technology, telecommunication and consumer equipment

The supply of critical metals like gallium, germanium, indium and rare earths elements (REE) is of technological, economic and strategic relevance in the manufacturing of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE). Recycling is one of the key strategies to secure the long-term supply of these metals. The dissipation of the metals related to the low concentrations in the products and to the configuration of the life cycle (short use time, insufficient collection, treatment focusing on the recovery of other materials) creates challenges to achieve efficient recycling. This article assesses the available data and sets priorities for further research aimed at developing solutions to improve the recycling of seven critical metals or metal families (antimony, cobalt, gallium, germanium, indium, REE and tantalum). Twenty-six metal applications were identified for those six metals and the REE family. The criteria used for the assessment are (i) the metal criticality related to strategic and economic issues; (ii) the share of the worldwide mine or refinery production going to EEE manufacturing; (iii) rough estimates of the concentration and the content of the metals in the products; (iv) the accuracy of the data already available; and (v) the occurrence of the application in specific WEEE groups. Eight applications were classified as relevant for further research, including the use of antimony as a flame retardant, gallium and germanium in integrated circuits, rare earths in phosphors and permanent magnets, cobalt in batteries, tantalum capacitors and indium as an indium-tin-oxide transparent conductive layer in flat displays.