ORALS

SESSION: SISAMThuPM3-R3 C: Processing cont.	Kobe International Symposium on Science of Innovative and Sustainable Alloys and Magnets (5th Intl. Symp. on Science of Intelligent and Sustainable Advanced Materials (SISAM))
Thu Oct, 24 2019 / Room: Dr. Christian Bernard
Session Chairs: Allan Walton; Session Monitor: TBA

18:15: [SISAMThuPM314]
A Success Story for more than 30 years: From Basic Research to the Industrial Innovation of Magnet Materials at Jožef Stefan Institute, Slovenia
Benjamin Podmiljsak¹ ; Kristina Zuzek Rozman¹ ; Saso Sturm² ; Spomenka Kobe³ ; ¹Jozef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia; ²Head of Department for Nanostructured Materials, Ljubljana, Slovenia; ³Josef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia;
Paper Id: 356 [Abstract]

At the Jožef Stefan Institute, a leading Slovenian research organisation in the field of natural sciences and technology, has conducted a systematic and consistent research of permanent magnets, tracing way back to the 1980s. In the last twenty years, this initiative has concentrated within the Department for Nanostructured Materials, within a research group specialised on magnetism, magnetic materials, and magnetic characterisation. The fact that a world-wide recognised research group on magnetic materials is present in a relatively small country of Slovenia is in many ways associated with an exceptionally high concentration of companies focused on the production and implementation of various types of permanent magnets. The research collaboration has always been motivated by the ongoing strategy of industry-driven basic research close to industrial innovation. It is therefore not surprising that during the rare earth crises approximately ten years ago, where Europe’s magnet industrial sector was nearly collapsing, all of the related Slovenian companies not only survived, but also strengthened their positon in the European region and worldwide. In this presentation, we will uncover historical backgrounds and current research strategies which led to the ongoing miracle of the magnet industry in Slovenia which will be shown through the prism of various success stories from basic-research driven industrial innovation, to the high impact implementation of the circular economy and problem-solving approaches during the production of different magnet types. These research strategies include, but are not restricted to, development of high-end corrosion protection for magnetic powder, failure analysis during the magnet production and the development of novel magnetic materials for state-of-the-art magnetic traction sensors for the robotic industry.

SESSION: SISAMFriAM-R3 D: Sustainable resources	Kobe International Symposium on Science of Innovative and Sustainable Alloys and Magnets (5th Intl. Symp. on Science of Intelligent and Sustainable Advanced Materials (SISAM))
Fri Oct, 25 2019 / Room: Dr. Christian Bernard
Session Chairs: George Hadjipanayis; Session Monitor: TBA

11:20: [SISAMFriAM01] Keynote
Enabling a circular economy ecosystem for NdFeB magnets: Which measures are needed and what is really feasible?
Carlo Burkhardt¹ ; Spomenka Kobe² ; Benjamin Podmiljsak³ ; ¹Pforzheim University, Pforzheim, Germany; ²Josef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia; ³Jozef Stefan Institute, Ljubljana, Slovenia;
Paper Id: 124 [Abstract]

Magnets are one of the most crucial materials necessary for modern Europe, as they are integral to energy conversion across the renewable energy and electric mobility sectors [1]. Unfortunately, even though the alloying constituents of NdFeB magnets have been classified as EU Critical Raw Materials and 90% are produced outside of the EU, there is still no circular economy to reuse and capture value for these types of materials [2]. With the prediction that the need for RE magnets will double in the next 10 years [3,4], this problem becomes even more urgent. At present, the only way to recover end of life (EOL) magnets from waste streams of electric and electronic equipment is by shredding and recycling by chemicals and pyrometallurgical routes, which is expensive and energy intensive [5]. Another problem is that the quality of the recollected materials varies significantly, especially with respect to alloying constituents and state of corrosion and employed corrosion protection, with no classification system for recyclate grades of EOL NdFeB magnets. To enable a circular economy ecosystem for NdFeB magnets, a whole range of measures is necessary: a) the development of an eco-labelling system for newly produced RE permanent magnets to clearly identify different magnets types and qualities in order to categorise the EOL NdFeB magnets by technical pre-processing requirements, b) using the highly effective HPMS process (Hydrogen Processing of Magnetic Scrap) for re-processing extracted materials directly from NdFeB alloy, c) better treatments to eliminate pre-processing residue which contaminates the HPMS process, d) upgrading the magnetic properties of EOL NdFeB magnets by tailoring the microstructure, phase ratio and phase composition, and e) developing industrial up-scalability, including thorough life cycle assessments. The feasibility of the above proposed measures will be discussed and illustrated with actual results generated in the EU-funded projects Maxycle and SUSMAGPRO. These projects will have a great impact by overcoming existing low recycling rates due to poor collection, high leakages of collected materials into non-suitable channels, and inappropriate interface management between logistics, mechanical pre-processing, and metallurgical metals recovery.

References:
[1] European Commission. Critical Raw Materials. http://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/raw-materials/specific-interest/critical_en (retrieved May 29, 2019).
[2] Sprecher, B., Xiao, Y.,Walton, A., Speight, J.D., Harris, I.R., Kleijn, R., Visser, G., Kramer, G.J.; Life Cycle Inventory of the Production of Rare Earths and the Subsequent Production of Nd-Fe-B Rare Earth Permanent Magnets. Environmental Science and Technology (2014) 3951-3958.
[3] Constantinides, S.; Market Outlook for Ferrite, Rare Earth and other Permanent Magnets. International Forum on Magnetic Applications, Technologies & Materials. 21-22 January 2016, Jacksonville, USA
[4]International Energy Agency. Energy, Climate Change & Environment: 2016 Insights
[5] DOI: 10.1021/es404596q