Zurich – Researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH) have invented a process that efficiently extracts the rare earth metal europium from old fluorescent lamps. The currently developed method could lead to a more efficient reuse of these important metals.
Researchers from the Laboratory of Inorganic Chemistry at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH) have developed a simple and efficient process for recovering the rare earth metal europium from used fluorescent lamps. According to a press release, with their new approach the researchers see lamp waste as future urban mines for europium. The method is much more efficient than all conventional methods for extracting rare earth metals from mineral ores. The separation process developed at ETH is to be extended in future to other rare earth metals such as neodymium and dysprosium.
This new technology is made possible by an inorganic molecule that serves as a binding site for metals in enzymes. The so-called tetrathiometalates serve as ligands for the separation of europium from the old fluorescent lamps. According to the press release, the new separation process is not only significantly more efficient than all previous recovery methods. "Our recycling approach is significantly more environmentally friendly than all conventional methods of extracting rare earth metals from mineral ores," said Victor Mougel, Professor at the Laboratory of Inorganic Chemistry at ETH Zurich, in the press release. To date, rare earths have hardly been recycled in Europe. In the EU, the recovery rate of rare earth elements is less than 1 percent. "There is an urgent need for sustainable and uncomplicated methods for separating and recovering these strategic raw materials from different sources," Mougel continues.
The researchers, whose results can currently be read in the journal "Nature Communications", have already patented their technology and are planning to found a start-up called Reecover for future commercialization. ce/eb