Project Description: Rare earth elements (REEs) are a crucial component for most modern technologies including consumer electronics, medical equipment, defense systems, and green energies such as battery, fuel cell, and electric vehicles. Contrary to the name “rare earth”, REEs are indeed present in the earth crust at a moderate concentration, and some of them even have a concentration comparable to the commonly used copper. The real challenge in obtaining rare earth metals is the separation between the elements because they present very similar physio-chemical properties and are always bundled together in nature. This challenge persists as well when the recycling of REEs is concerned. The current processes used in REE separation are ne...
