PDF(Pubmed)
Abstract：
Rare earth elements (REEs) are important raw materials for green technologies. However, REE mining and production uses techniques that are often not environmentally sustainable. Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a well-recognized method for evaluating the environmental impacts of products and technologies. This article provides an overview of the environmental impacts based on published LCA results of primary REE production. Existing major REE deposits (Bayan Obo in China, Mountain Pass in the United States, Mount Weld in Australia, ion-adsorption deposits in several Chinese southern provinces) and currently possible production routes are compared. Alternative minerals, such as eudialyte, are also discussed. The article shows which environmental effects can be minimized by technology optimization and environmental safety strategies. Additionally, some of the environmental impacts discussed, may be difficult to mitigate, as they depend on the mineral type. Activities along the complex process chain of REEs production that have particularly high environmental impacts are identified.
UNASSIGNED:
UNASSIGNED:
摘要：
稀土元素是绿色技术的重要原料。然而,稀土开采和生产使用的技术往往是环境不可持续的。生命周期评估（LCA）是一种公认的评估产品和技术环境影响的方法。本文根据已发布的主要REE生产的LCA结果，概述了环境影响。现有主要稀土矿床(中国的白云鄂博，美国的山口，澳大利亚的MountWeld,比较了中国南方几个省份的离子吸附矿床）和目前可能的生产路线。替代矿物,如eudialyte，也讨论了。本文说明了通过技术优化和环境安全策略可以将哪些环境影响降至最低。此外,讨论了一些环境影响，可能很难缓解，因为它们取决于矿物类型。确定了对环境影响特别大的稀土生产复杂过程链的活动。
未经评估：
未经评估：
