Phys.org November 19, 2024
The renewable energy industry is heavily reliant on rare earth elements. A team of researchers in the US (UT Austin, University of Kentucky, University of Wyoming, industry) estimated coal ash resources and potential for extraction of rare earth elements using data for the US. According to the data ~ 52 gigatons (Gt) of coal was produced in the US (1950–2021). Power plants account for most of the coal use. About 70% of coal ash was potentially accessible for rare earth element extraction (1985–2021) and was disposed in landfills and ponds with the remaining coal ash was used onsite or sold. Considering the market value of rare earth oxides, potentially accessible ash volumes, and percent rare earth element extraction resulted in an estimated $8.4 billion value. According to the researchers, their study provides fundamental information on accessible coal ash resources in the US, linkages to coal sources, and preliminary estimates of rare earth element levels for future development within the US… read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
US coal consumption by sector. Data are provided in Table S3. Credit: Int J Coal Sci Technol 11, 74 (2024)