Harnessing GEA's expertise
Rare earth metals recycling
Hiding in plain sight, earth metals are all around us in our everyday objects, making our modern lives possible. From flatscreens and lithium batteries to energy-efficient LED light bulbs and electric cars, rare earth metals give shape to humanity’s present. As we push the boundaries of technology, these elements become even more crucial since they are the building blocks of our digital world and engines of a greener mobility.
A not so rare challenge
As we rely more heavily on rare metals, coming up with sustainable ways to source and recycle them becomes increasingly important.
Currently, only about 1% of rare earth elements in old products are recycled, mainly due to factors like the complexity it poses to separate the blends that contain them and the hazardous substances involved in the highly-energy-consuming traditional recycling methods. Innovative engineering is on the eve of making circularity in rare metals’ lifecycle possible.
GEA’s expertise helps unlock the full potential
Our evaporation, crystallization, distillation and drying technologies are behind the purification and separation steps in the recycling process while our emission control expertise tackles the off-gas and exhaust air product of the recycling plants.
Crystallization is a key selective technique in the purification of rare earth metals. By carefully controlling the temperature and concentration of the solution, specific rare earth elements can be selectively crystallized out, then separated from the solution, and often recrystallized to further increase purity.
Our engineers skillfully integrate decades of process engineering expertise with our broad palette of technologies to tailor efficient and environmentally friendly recycling processes that adjust to each customer’s specifications, helping them keep the pace up with the growing demand for rare metals while reducing dependency on primary mining. All with the lowest energy consumption and keeping harmful emissions in check.
Why GEA?
- Over a century of evaporation, crystallization and drying expertise.
- Deep know-how of the hydrometallurgical process.
- We design and fabricate centrifugal separators, evaporators and crystallizers suitable for all process steps of the recycle process.
- Our Equipment is shop- or field- fabricated to ASME, ANSI, AS, PED and ASTM specifications.
- GEA installations are always closely supervised by our experts.
Our on-demand Webinars
Watch our Expert Talks and gain all the insight on GEA constant innovations for process optimization, energy efficiency, decarbonization and sustainability.
Battery Related Compounds
GEA provides its customers with an unrivalled combination of experience and process expertise that covers the whole spectrum of lithium production, from brine concentration to a high-quality dried powder that exactly meets battery material standards.
WEEE Metal recycling
Off-Gas cleaning plants for E-Scrap and Battery Recycling Furnaces.
Electrification of thermal separation processes (MVR)
Electrification emerges as a high-potential solution to contribute reducing both CO2 emissions & operational costs.
