Recycling of “Specialty Metals” Key to Boom in Clean-Tech Sector

• The amount of steel per person in the United States is now 11 to 12 tonnes and in China it is 1.5 tonnes
• World-wide stocks of metals in society have grown such that there is enough copper “above ground” equal to 50 kg per person.
• Since 1932, the amount of copper per person in the United States has grown from 73 kg to close to 240 kg now.
• If this pattern is followed by all countries, the amount of copper and other metals in structures and products would be three to nine times today’s levels.
• The lifetime of copper in buildings is 25 to 40 years whereas in PCs and mobile phones, the in-service lifetime of the metal is less than five years
• For many technology or specialist metals like indium and rhodium, more than 80 per cent of all such metals ever extracted from natural resources have been mined in just the past three decades
• Global demand for metals like copper and aluminum has doubled in the past 20 years
• Lack of adequate recycling infrastructure for WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) in most parts of the world causes total losses of copper and other valuable metals like gold, silver and palladium.

Producing metals from recycled sources has multiple Green Economy benefits when compared with producing and using primary metals from mines.

These include reduced impacts on the environment including water resources and biodiversity, reduced energy requirements and hence cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, and an opportunity to create new jobs and livelihoods.

Other considerations concern the fact that some of these metals deposits and active mines are confined to certain geographical locations. For example lithium in South America and rare earth metals in China.

• Current global steel production uses 1.3 billion tonnes of steel annually, which cause 2.2 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions.
• “Secondary”, reclaimed steel causes 75 per cent less greenhouse gas emissions.
• Emissions from recycled aluminum are about 12 times lower that primary aluminum production.
• Currently only a few metals, such as iron and platinum, have end-of-life recycling rates of 50 per cent or above.
• For each 100 million tonnes of primary steel substituted by secondary or recycled steel, a saving of around 150 million tonnes of CO2 is possible.

The reports cites palladium as an example of the around eight precious metals studied including gold and silver.

Palladium is used in car catalysts, industrial catalysts, and areas such as dentistry and jewelry.

• Currently recycling rates can be as high as up to 90 per cent in industrial applications, with more moderate rates in automotive uses where rates are around 50 to 55 per cent.
• However, in electronic applications recycling rates are just between five and ten per cent, in part because less than 10 per cent of consumer cell phones are recycled properly.

The researchers cite indium as one of close to 40 specialty metals, including rare earth metals, studied.

Indium is used in semiconductors, energy efficient light emitting diodes (LEDs), advanced medical imaging and photovoltaics.

The report underlines that such metals are crucial for sustainable, clean technologies like renewable energy and advanced batteries.

• Indium is a metal found in low concentrations in nature and as a by-product of zinc ores.
• Strong growth in gross demand is predicted for indium: from around 1,200 tonnes (2010) to around 2,600 tonnes (2020).
• Current recycling rates are thought to be below one per cent, with a similar story for other specialty metals.
• Other specialty metals include tellurium and selenium for high efficiency solar cells, neodymium and dysprosium for wind turbine magnets, lanthanum for hybrid vehicle batteries and gallium for LEDs.