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Contract Opportunity

Title: Rare Earth Metal Extraction and Flyash Cleaning Method

Background Information:

Rare earth metals used in batteries, motors, and electronics are a critical need around the world and the U.S. must import almost all of it from abroad. Current approaches to mine and process rare earth metals use toxic materials and generates a toxic landscape surrounding the mine. Coal power plant waste product, fly ash is an environmentally unclean and harmful granular substance that is used in virtually all current cement products. Despite new regulations and fines, current efforts to clean fly ash waste sites are negligible as the world struggles to clean the fly ash and the land on which it sits.

Sandia has developed and filed for patent protection on a new method of extracting several rare earth metals from coal plant waste product, fly ash. The method is environmentally friendly as it only uses non toxic food grade acid and super-critical CO2. The technique enables environmentally clean production of multiple rare earth metals and environmental remediation of fly ash waste sites with no harmful residual environmental effects. The end product is a compost of rare earth metals for later separation which has uses in battery, motor, and electronics industries and a clean fly ash for use in cement.

Technology Highlights:

• A method to extract Rare Earth metals from coal plant waste product, fly ash


• Method uses environmentally friendly food grade acid and SCO2 to remove metals


• Method does not pollute the air, earth, or water


• End product is a Rare Earth metal “compost” for later separation and clean fly ash for cement

Potential Applications:

• Rare Earth Extraction


• Fly Ash Waste Site Remediation


• Clean Cement Production


• Battery, Motor, and Electronic products

Opportunity Description:

SNL is seeking partners to further develop and commercialize the rare earth extraction method. Licensing and technical support (paid by Licensee) are available.

Sandia National Laboratories is a multimission laboratory managed and operated by National Technology & Engineering Solutions of Sandia LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Honeywell International Inc. for the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-NA0003525.

Primary Point of Contact:

Robert Sleeper

Licensing Executive

Sandia National Laboratories

rdsleep@sandia.gov

Keywords:

Rare Earth metals, extraction, flyash, remediation, clean cement, battery, electronics, carbon credit

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