1. Opportunities & limits to recycle critical metals for clean energies
Christian Hagelüken, Mark Caffarey - Umicore
Adjust look to other presentations
Trans-Atlantic Workshop on Rare Earth Elements and Other Critical Materials for a Clean Energy Future
MIT Boston, 3. Dec. 2010

2. Boom in demand for most ‘technology metals’
% mined in
% mined in
important for clean energy
REE = Rare Earth Elements
 Much more than Rare Earth Elements, but little significance of „mass metals“

3. Clean energy developments will further boost demand for technology metals
Multiple examples:
Electric vehicles & batteries cobalt, lithium, rare earth elements, copper
Fuel cells platinum, (ruthenium, palladium, gold)
Photovoltaic (solar cells) silicon, silver, indium, gallium, selenium, tellurium, germanium, ruthenium
Thermo-electrics, opto-electronics, LEDs, … bismuth, tellurium, silicon, indium, gallium, arsenic, selenium, germanium, antimony, … …
The reverse in part 2?

4. Urban mining “deposits” can be much richer than primary mining ores
~5 g/t Au in ore
Similar for PGMs
Urban mining
g/t Au in PC circuit boards
g/t Au in cell phones
2000 g/t PGM in automotive catalysts
Example gold – principle is valid for many technology metals

5. Low loadings per unit, but volume counts Example: Metal use in electronics
Global sales, 2009
a) Mobile phones
1300 million units/ year
X 250 mg Ag ≈ 325 t Ag
X 24 mg Au ≈ 31 t Au
X 9 mg Pd ≈ 12 t Pd
X 9 g Cu ≈ 12,000 t Cu
1300 million Li-Ion batteries
X g Co ≈ 4900 t Co
b) PCs & laptops
300 Million units/year
X 1000 mg Ag ≈ 300 t Ag
X 220 mg Au ≈ 66 t Au
X 80 mg Pd ≈ 24 t Pd
X ~500 g Cu ≈ 150,000 t Cu
~140 million Li-ion batteries
X 65 g Co ≈ 9100 t Co
a+b) Urban mine
Mine production / share
Ag: 21,000 t/a ► 3%
Au: 2,400 t/a ► 4%
Pd: 220 t/a ► 16%
Cu: 16 Mt/a ► <1%
Co: 75,000 t/a ► 19%
Tiny metal content per piece  Significant total demand
Other electronic devices add even more to these figures

6. Mass recycling vs technology metals recycling
Bottle glass
Steel scrap
Circuit boards
Autocatalysts +
Green glass
White glass
Brown glass
Specialty metals
PGMs
“Mono-substance” materials without hazards
Trace elements remain part of alloys/glass
Recycling focus on mass and costs
”Poly-substance” materials, incl. hazardous elements
Complex components as part of complex products
Recycling focus on value recovery from trace elements

7. Recycling chain - system approach is key
Example:
50% X
70% X
95% =
33%
End-of-life products
Collection
Dismantling & pre-processing
Smelting &
refining
Recycled metals
Reuse
Separated components & fractions
Final waste
Consider the entire chain & its interdependences
Precious metals dominate economic & environmental value  minimise PM losses
Mass flows  flows of technology metals
Success factors  interface optimisation, specialisation, economies of scale
 The total recycling efficiency is determined by the weakest step in the chain

8. Room for improvement in the recycling chain
Example of gold recycling
Collection
Dismantling & pre-processing
Smelting & refining
80% X
50% X
50% =
20%
Key slide, as it shows that best combination involves Umicore like refiners.
Steven Art project?
50% X
25% X
95% =
12%
Are we always doing much better in “the West” today?
Future… 85% X
73%
90%
95% =
 Doing it the right way offers a huge potential – so how to get there?
Figures are illustrative

9. Example e-scrap: Number of actors in Europe
Large number of players in the recycling chain Limited number of technology metals refiners
Sufficient capacity for recovery of many technology metals available
Make sure that critical fractions reach these plants without major losses during the way
Ensure that critical fractions with technology metals are treated at BAT processes
High yields, minimal emissions
Recovery of multiple metals
Example e-scrap: Number of actors in Europe
10,000s
1000’s 100’s 3
Collection
Dismantling & Pre-processing
Smelting & Refining

10. Example Umicore: High Tech & Economies of Scale are crucial success factors
Umicore‘s integrated Hoboken smelter/refinery
Capacity:
100 t Au, 2400t Ag, 50t PGM = 7% of world mine production.
ISO & 9001, OHSAS 18001
Focus PM-containing secondary material, input > t/a, global customer basis
Recovery of 7 PM & 11 other metals with high yields: Recycled metal value: 3 Bn US-$ Au, Ag, Pt, Pd, Rh, Ru, Ir, Cu, Pb, Ni, Sn, Bi, Se, Te, Sb, As, In, Ga.
Investments since 1997: 400 M €; Invest. for comparable green field plant: >> 1 Bn €!
Value of precious metals enables co-recovery of specialty metals (‘paying metals’)

11. Technology metals recycling is more complex than in the movies
Technical accessibility of relevant components
E.g. electronics in modern cars, REE-magnets in electric motors, …
Need for “Design for disassembly”, sorting & “pre-shredder” separation technologies
Thermodynamic challenges & difficult metal combinations for “trace elements”
Laws of Nature cannot be broken
E.g. rare earth elements, tantalum, gallium, beryllium in electronics, lithium in batteries
Need for recyclability consideration in development of new material combinations
Quality/composition of feed streams need to match with capability of recycling process
From: Disney/Pixar

12. Economic recycling challenges
Most precious metals containing waste materials have a positive net value
Value of metals contained outweighs cost of recycling
Technology metals containing waste materials may have negative net value in the absence of certain “paying metals” (e.g. Au) in the same metal feed
Value/price of metal not sufficient to compensate for cost of recycling
Negative net value due to low critical metal concentrations in products
E.g. lithium in batteries, indium in LCDs & PV-modules
 Create economic recycling incentives (subsidies) & improve technology (costs & efficiency)
Dispersed use inhibits economic recycling (regardless of price level)
E.g. silver in textiles or RFID chips
 Avoid dispersed use or look for non-critical substitutes
 Legislative initiatives required in certain cases

13. Main flaws in EU WEEE recycling
Poor collection
Deviation of collected materials  dubious exports backyard treatment ► :

14. To what extent does current (EU-) legislation help?
Legislation helps
Awareness raising, supportive legal framework
Development of take-back infrastructure, collection targets, EU wide reporting
Resource aspect of recycling is on the radar screen now, beyond the traditional waste/environmental aspects
Legislation can be improved
Weak enforcement of legislation
Poor monitoring of end-of-life flows
Illegal exports
Collection targets not ambitious enough, collection remains well below potential
Mass based targets do not help for technology metals (“trace elements”)
Neither clear definitions nor reliable supervision of recycling standards exist
Example of ELV & WEEE directive in voice over
As long as the majority of ELVs, old computers, mobile phones etc. are exported from Europe legislation remains a “paper tiger”. However, more ambitious targets combined with strict monitoring and enforcement could boost business for state-of-the-art EU recyclers (Umicore)

15. Legislation needed for certain recycling drivers
Criticality, a new driver for recycling?
Current recycling-drivers
Value:
Taken care of by the market, pays for itself
Set EHS frame conditions!
EHS & volume
Society driven
Negative net value
Future recycling drivers:
“Critical metals”
Macro economic significance
Enhanced recycling worthwhile also without volume or EHS risks
Value
Economic incentive e.g. : autocat, Al-wheel rim, Cu-scrap, precious metals, …
Recycling
Sustainable access to critical metals
Driven by legislation
Environment
Volume
Too much to dump e.g. : household waste, debris, packaging, …
Risk for EHS (Environment, health & safety) e.g..: asbestos, Hg, airbags, waste oil, …

16. Next steps: Time for fundamental changes
Attitude: from waste management  to resource management
Targets: from focus on mass  to focus on quality & critical substances
Practice: from traditional waste business  to high-tech recycling
Vision (OEMs): from burden  to recycling as opportunity
Recycling requires a holistic and interdisciplinary approach 
Ensure consistency between different policies

17. Ready for questions

18. Recycling recommendations developed by the RMI critical metals group
Undertake policy actions to make recycling of critical raw materials more efficient, in particular by:
Mobilising relevant EoL products for proper collection instead of stocking, landfill or incineration
Improving overall organisation, logistics & efficiency of recycling chains by focussing on interfaces and system approach
Preventing illegal exports of relevant EoL products & increasing transparency in flows
Promoting research on system optimisation & recycling of technically challenging products & substances
Source: DEFINING CRITICAL RAW MATERIALS FOR THE EU: A Report from the Raw Materials Supply Group ad hoc working group defining critical raw materials; July 30, 2010

19. RMI: Eurometaux Proposals
Enforcing trade-related aspects of environmental legislation
Ensuring level playing field for processing 2nd raw materials
Improving management of raw materials and their efficient use
Economic viability of recycling
Existing EU policy framework
Improving access to secondary raw materials
10 concrete proposals under 4 pillars:
(1): Trade aspects
Customs identification of second hand goods
Improved enforcement of Waste Shipment Regulation
End-of-Waste
(2) Level playing field
Certification scheme to ensure access to secondary RM
Facilitate & encourage the re- shipping of complex materials to BAT-recycling plants in Europe
(3) Improved EoL management
Promote the Efficient Collection and Recycling of Rechargeable Batteries
The eco-leasing concept
Better recycling data
Research on recyclability
(4) Economic viability of recycling

20. Gold recovery in printed circuit board fraction, after pre-processing
Western technology not always perfect as well – Choice of pre-processing technology is crucial
Gold recovery in printed circuit board fraction, after pre-processing
Choice of dismantling & pre-processing technology strongly impacts recovery rates
Materials must be steered into most suitable refining processes
Challenge for complex products
Precious- & special metals are lost unless directed into PM- & Cu-refining.
To maximise recovery of precious & special metals certain losses of plastics & base metals are inevitable (& should be tolerated).
Manual
Low intensity mechanical
High intensity mechanical
75% gold loss
High recovery in St2: due to very selective process and removal of material from different
Parts of the product. Notice impact of feed material and pre-processing route.
Source: Rotter et al. Elektronik Ecodesign Congress München (10/2009) 20

21. R & D started to recover Li
Continuous technology innovation - Umicore recycling process for rechargeable batteries
R & D started to recover Li
Source: Eurometaux’s proposals for the Raw Materials Initiative, annex, a case story on rechargeable batteries, prepared by Umicore & Recharge, June 2010