Handbook of Recycling

Chapter 4

Recycling Rare Metals

Robert U. Ayres¹, Gara Villalba Méndez³,  and Laura Talens Peiró^2     1INSEAD, Fontainebleau, France     ²Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Ispra, Italy     ³Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Spain

Abstract

The industrial system now utilizes many more elements, especially rare metals, than was the case even a half century ago. Most are not mined for themselves but are obtained as by-products or “hitchhikers” of the more familiar industrial metals, such as iron, aluminum, copper, nickel, and zinc. This imposes a limit on the production of by-product metals. But in some cases, demand may increase much faster than new supply. This suggests a need for recycling. But the uses of these metals are often ...