Production of Critical Minerals from Coal-Based Resources

c. Production of Critical Minerals from Coal-Based Resources In the U.S. DOE 2011 Critical Materials Strategy report [1], sixteen elements were assessed for criticality in wind turbines, EVs, PV cells and fluorescent lighting. The criticality assessment was framed in two dimensions: importance to clean energy and supply risk. Five rare earth elements (REE) dysprosium, terbium, europium, neodymium and yttrium were found to be critical in the short term (2011 2015). These five REE are used in magnets for wind turbines and electric vehicles or phosphors in energy-efficient lighting. Other elements cerium, indium, lanthanum and tellurium were found to be near-critical. Between the short term and the medium term (2015 2025), the importance to clean energy and supply risk shift for some materials. U.S. Executive Order 13817 [2], which was issued on December 20, 2017, focused on the reduction of our Nation's vulnerability to disruption in the supply of critical minerals. In Executive Order 13817, a critical mineral is a mineral identified to be a non-fuel mineral or mineral material essential to the economic and national security of the United States, the supply chain of which is vulnerable to disruption, and that serves an essential function in the manufacturing of a product, the absence of which would have significant consequences for the economy or national security. Critical minerals were identified to include aluminum (bauxite), antimony, arsenic, barite, beryllium, bismuth, cesium, chromium, cobalt, fluorspar, gallium, germanium, graphite (natural), hafnium, helium, indium, lithium, magnesium, manganese, niobium, platinum group metals, potash, the rare earth elements group, rhenium, rubidium, scandium, strontium, tantalum, tellurium, tin, titanium, tungsten, uranium, vanadium, and zirconium [3]. As DOE-NETL has demonstrated the technical feasibility of recovering rare earth elements from coal-based resources, efforts are being extended to address the feasibility of recovering critical minerals from run-of-mine coal, coal refuse (mineral matter that is removed from coal prior to shipment), clay/sandstone over/under-burden materials, ash (coal combustion residuals), and aqueous effluents such as acid mine drainage (AMD), and associated solids and precipitates resulting from AMD treatment. Applicants shall focus their proposals on: Providing a summary review of the open literature that addresses the industrial processing of all thirty-seven (37) critical minerals from conventional resources. Processing methodologies as well as the annual production quantities and current utilization for all thirty-seven (37) critical minerals shall be described. Production of critical minerals from coal-based (unconventional) resources shall be addressed. This shall include identifying: o Critical mineral concentrations in coal-based resources (highest ranked anthracite coal through low grade lignite; coal combustion ash; AMD; etc.) o Concepts for extraction, separation and recovery of critical minerals based on: Potential technology transfer utilizing conventional industrial processing for extraction, separation and recovery of critical minerals from coal-based resources Prior state-of-the-art for extraction, separation and recovery of critical minerals from coal-based resources Projected critical mineral phase(s) resulting from processing (i.e., metals, oxides, salts, etc.) Development of conceptual process flow diagrams (PFD) for the extraction, separation and recovery of critical minerals from coal-based resources. Utilization of critical minerals for advanced alloy development or component production. Final Report addressing each of the bulleted items identified above. Questions Contact: Mark Render, mark.render@netl.doe.gov