Download - Rare Earth Metal Oral Testimony to Congress
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__________________________________*E-mail: [email protected]
Phone: 515-294-7931
Revised March 11, 2010
RARE EARTH MINERALS AND 21ST
CENTURY INDUSTRY
Oral Responses to Subcommittees Questions
Karl A. Gschneidner, Jr.*
Ames Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy andDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering
Iowa State University
Ames, IA 50011-3020
Good afternoon Mr. Chairman, members of the Subcommittee, ladies and gentlemen. I
am pleased to have the opportunity to present my views on the rare earth crisis, and what can be
done to alleviate this situation. My brief responses to your questions are as follows. More
detailed information will be found in my written statement.
Question 1. Rare earth science and technology at Ames Laboratory of the U.S.
Department of Energy had its beginning in World War II when Iowa State College assisted the
war effort by supplying one-third of the uranium metal (2 tons) necessary to make the first
nuclear reactor go critical at the University of Chicago in 1942. By the end of the war, 2 million
pounds of uranium and 600 thousand pounds of thorium were produced for the Manhattan
Project.
Work on the rare earths was a natural outgrowth of the war effort. Initially there was a
wide spectrum of research being carried out. This included separation, analytical, and solid state
chemistry; process, physical and mechanical metallurgy; ceramics; and condensed matter
physics. Many successes were achieved and technology was turned over to industry. But as the
science matured, programmatic changes occurred and a number of the research areas were
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phased out. This included separation and analytical chemistry, process and mechanical
metallurgy, and ceramics. The remaining areas are still strong but the person-power levels have
diminished. However, the establishment of the Materials Preparation Center (a DOE Basic
Energy Sciences specialized research center) has alleviated some of the degradation in the
process metallurgy area.
I would like to mention a new and exciting development a revolutionary method of
preparing a neodymium master alloy for making the neodymium-iron-boron permanent magnet.
The cost of this master alloy is about half that of neodymium. Furthermore, it is a very green
technology with no by-products, compared to conventional processes which have by-products
which need to be disposed of in an environmentally safe manner. I have in my hand the second
neodymium-iron-boron permanent magnet which we produced using our new process in early
February 2010.
Question 2. We are well aware of the impact of the Chinese activities in the rare earth
markets as noted by other invited speakers at this House hearing. In addition to forcing the US
rare earth and permanent magnet manufacturers out of business, the country now faces a
shortage of trained scientists, engineers, and technicians, and a lack of innovations in the high
tech areas which are critical to our countrys future energy needs. A research center which
alleviates both of these problems is the best way to solve the rare earth crisis. An educational
institution which has a long and strong tradition in carrying out research on all aspects of rare
earth materials with a strong educational component would be the ideal solution. A National
Research Center on Rare Earths and Energy should be established with federal and state support,
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and supplemented by U.S. industry as the rare earth industry revitalizes. The center would
employ about 30 full time employees. This research center will be a national resource for the
rare earth science, technology and applications, and would provide support of research activities
at other institutions via subcontracts to complement the activities at the center.
The major emphasis of the center would be directed basic research, but proprietary
research paid by the organization(s) that request it would also be part of the centers mandate.
The center would have an advisory board made up of representatives from the university,
government, industry and the general public to oversee, guide, and refocus as needed, the
research being conducted.
I would like to suggest to this House subcommittee that they consider a second national
center, the National Research Center for Magnetic Cooling. Cooling below room temperature
accounts for 15% of the total energy consumed in the USA. Magnetic refrigeration is a new
advanced, highly technical, energy efficient, green technology for cooling and climate control,
and for refrigerating and freezing (see section 6.5 in my written response). It is about 20% more
efficient, and is a green technology because it eliminates harmful greenhouse gases and reduces
energy consumption. If we were able to switch all of the cooling processes to magnetic
refrigeration at once we would reduce the nations energy consumption by 5%. But there are a
lot of hurdles that need to be overcome, and the USA needs to put together a strong, cohesive
effort to retain our disappearing leadership in this technology, by assembling a National
Research Center for Magnetic Cooling. Europe and China are moving rapidly in this area, and
Denmark has assembled a magnetic refrigeration national research center at Ris so far the
only one in the world. This Center should be structured similar to what has been proposed for
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The National Research Center on Rare Earths and Energy. The question is, are we going to give
up our lead position and be a second rate country, or will we be leading the rest of the world? I
hope and pray that the answer is we are going to show the world that we are number one.
Question 3. Knowledge is exported from a research institute (university) to industry
through the transfer of intellectual property and know-how. Research findings are disseminated
as published articles in journals, presentations at conferences, in electronic media, and if exciting
enough, via news conferences and press releases assuming the new results are not patentable. If
the research has some potential commercial value, this new information should be made
available as soon as possible after filing a patent disclosure. However, before the patent is filed
one could disseminate the results to companies that might be interested by contacting them
directly to see: (1) if they are interested, (2) if they would sign a non-disclosure agreement, and
(3) if they answer yes to both (1) and (2) then the information could be disclosed to them.
A second highly effective route is the transfer of the skills and knowledge gained by
university students to their industrial employers after graduation.
Question 4. Rare earth research in the USA on mineral extraction, rare earth separation,
processing of the oxides into metallic alloys and other useful forms, substitution, and recycling is
virtually zero.
Today, some work is carried out at various DOE laboratories on rare earth and actinide
separation chemistry directed toward treating waste nuclear products and the environmental
clean-up of radioactive materials in soils. This research may be beneficial to improving rare
earth separation processes on a commercial scale.
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Some research at various universities might be considered to be useful in finding
substitutes for a given rare earth element in a high tech application. But generally the particular
rare earths property is so unique it is difficult to find another element as a substitute.
The Chinese have two large research laboratories which have significant research and
development activities devoted to the above topics. They are the General Research Institute for
Nonferrous Metals in Beijing and the Baotou Research Institute of Rare Earths in Baotou, Inner
Mongolia. The former is a much larger organization than the Baotou group, but the rare earths
activity is smaller. The Baotou Research Institute of Rare Earths is the largest rare earth research
group in the world. Baotou is located about 120 miles from the large rare earth deposit in Inner
Mongolia.
Thank you for allowing me to participate in this House subcommittee hearing this
afternoon.