Recent trends in eco-sustainable recycling of energy-critical elements from low-grade and secondary resources

Abstract

Energy critical elements (ECEs) are essential for improved generation, transmission, and storage of energy. It is important to note that by 2050 around 3 billion tonnes of minerals and metals will be required to decarbonize the energy system (Akcil et al. 2020). As such, the risk of an adequate supply of these elements could limit their deployment in advanced technologies e.g. in the manufacturing of solar panels, wind turbines, and batteries (Huber and Steininger 2022; IEA 2021a). In contrast to conventional hydrocarbon resources, an energy system driven by clean energy technologies differs quite in terms of the usage of minerals. For example, electric vehicles (EVs) need six times more minerals than conventional fuel-based cars, and building an onshore wind plant would require nine times more inputs of minerals than a conventional gas-fired plant (IEA 2021b). This indicates the importance and the urgent requirement for securing a sustainable supply of ECEs in the current scenario. Since natural resources of such metals are either very less or are depleting, utilization of secondary wastes, for example, electronic wastes has gained rapid momentum. Overall, the management of mineral-metal-containing wastes and the establishment of proper recycling techniques for resource recovery have become highly essential (Fujita et al. 2022; Mishra et al. 2023; Shahabuddin et al. 2023). It will not only serve as a tool for waste management but also contribute to environmental remediation and the circular economy aspects (Marafi and Stanislaus 2008; Panda and Akcil 2021).