Opportunities for Cerium Valorization in the Rare Earth Supply Chain

Rare earth (RE) elements are co-located in ore deposits and must be treated together during the difficult extraction and separation. Cerium is the majority element in most deposits (> 50 %), and the growing need for Nd, Pr and the heavy lanthanides in permanent magnets and other energy transition technologies results in costly stockpiling of cerium oxide which has low demand. Finding new high-value applications for cerium or its compounds is therefore a sought-after goal to improve the profitability of rare earth mining and processing. Here, this contribution will highlight the use of cerium in high-strength aluminum alloys and the preparation of Ce-based permanent magnets as two emerging technologies for high-value products that have potential to stabilize the fluctuating rare earth market, substitute critical materials, support the nascent domestic rare earth industry and provide technologies for the pending green energy transition.. Authors: Amon, Alfred [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)]; McCall, Scott K. [Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), Livermore, CA (United States)]. DOE Contract: AC52-07NA27344. Subjects: Energy - Conversion, Materials science; aluminum alloy; cerium; critical materials; permanent magnets; rare earths