October AMP_Digital

A D V A N C E D M A T E R I A L S & P R O C E S S E S | O C T O B E R 2 0 1 8 2 7 REE PROGRAM OBJECTIVES AND GOALS The mission of the DOE-NETL (Na- tional Energy Technology Laboratory) REE program is to develop an econom- ically competitive and sustainable do- mestic supply of rare earth elements (REEs) and critical materials (CMs) to assist in maintaining U.S. economic growth and national security. The ob- jectives of the DOE-NETL Feasibility of Recovering Rare Earth Elements pro- gram are to: • Recover REEs from coal and coal by-product streams, such as run-of- mine coal, coal refuse, clay/sand- stone over/under-burden materials, power generation ash, and aqueous effluents as acid mine drainage (AMD). • Advance existing and/or develop new, second-generation or transfor- mational extraction and separation technologies to improve process system economics, and reduce the environmental impact of the coal- based REE value chain. Current goals of the DOE-NETL REE program are by 2020 to validate the technical and economic feasibili- ty of small, domestic, pilot-scale, proto- type facilities to generate, in an envi- ronmentally benign manner, 10 lb/day, high purity 90-99 wt% (900,000- 990,000 ppm), salable, rare earth ele- ment oxides (REOs) from 300 ppm coal- based resources. PROGRAM STRUCTURE Based on Congressional language, in 2014-2015, DOE-NETL performed an assessment and analysis of the feasibili- ty of economically recovering rare earth elements from coal and coal by-prod- ucts [1-3] . In 2016-2018, the DOE-NETL REE program was directed to expand its external agency activities to develop and test commercially viable advanced separation technologies at proof-of- concept or pilot-scale that can be de- ployed near-term for the extraction and recovery of REEs and minerals from U.S. coal and coal by-products with the high- est potential for success [4-6] . Currently, the REE program portfo- lio consists of both intramural and ex- tramural projects ranging from concept definition and development through laboratory and bench-scale testing, as well as small pilot-scale testing. The goal is to validate the technical and economic feasibility for design, con- struction, and operation of functional prototype coal-based facilities to pro- duce salable, high purity REOs. Fig. 2 — Technology applications for rare earth elements. Fig. 3 — Major suppliers of rare earth elements.