A project is underway to recover rare earth permanent magnets from discarded air conditioners and refrigerators for industrial recycling. The pilot program is expected to recover 1.6 tons of rare earth permanent magnets from approximately 40,000 discarded appliances each year.
The Climate Energy Environment Ministry announced on August 27 that it will sign a memorandum of understanding with LG Electronics and the Circular Governance organization at the Metropolitan Resource Recycling Center in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, to recover rare earth permanent magnets contained in the refrigerant compressors of old air conditioners and refrigerators.
Each rotor in the refrigerant compressor of discarded appliances contains about 120 grams of rare earth permanent magnets. However, due to their strong magnetic force, separating them manually has been challenging, leading to their disposal as scrap metal along with leftover rotors after copper extraction. This has limited the recovery and recycling of rare earth materials.
In this pilot project, Circular Governance will separate the refrigerant compressors and rotors from the air conditioners and refrigerators, while LG Electronics will use its self-developed equipment to demagnetize and separate the rare earth permanent magnets from the rotors. The recovered magnets will be utilized in the development of technologies for producing new magnets.
Since May, LG Electronics has been testing related equipment under a regulatory exception for a circular economy, with the demonstration period set to last until May 2028.
The Climate Ministry estimates that this initiative could recover about 1,600 kilograms of rare earth permanent magnets from approximately 40,000 discarded air conditioners and refrigerators annually. If expanded to the estimated 3 million discarded appliances nationwide, it could potentially secure up to 120 tons of waste permanent magnets each year.
Based on the results of the pilot project, the government plans to establish measures to improve recycling standards to promote the separation and recovery of permanent magnets. This initiative aims to strengthen the domestic supply chain for critical minerals, which are currently heavily reliant on imports.
Kim Han-seung, the First Vice Minister of the Climate Ministry, stated, "To return rare earth materials from discarded appliances to industrial raw materials, close cooperation between businesses and the government is essential for the recovery and recycling of waste permanent magnets. We will actively promote the expansion of the recovery and recycling system and improve related regulations and technology development to establish a circular supply chain for critical minerals contained in waste resources."
The Climate Energy Environment Ministry announced on August 27 that it will sign a memorandum of understanding with LG Electronics and the Circular Governance organization at the Metropolitan Resource Recycling Center in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, to recover rare earth permanent magnets contained in the refrigerant compressors of old air conditioners and refrigerators.
Each rotor in the refrigerant compressor of discarded appliances contains about 120 grams of rare earth permanent magnets. However, due to their strong magnetic force, separating them manually has been challenging, leading to their disposal as scrap metal along with leftover rotors after copper extraction. This has limited the recovery and recycling of rare earth materials.
In this pilot project, Circular Governance will separate the refrigerant compressors and rotors from the air conditioners and refrigerators, while LG Electronics will use its self-developed equipment to demagnetize and separate the rare earth permanent magnets from the rotors. The recovered magnets will be utilized in the development of technologies for producing new magnets.
Since May, LG Electronics has been testing related equipment under a regulatory exception for a circular economy, with the demonstration period set to last until May 2028.
The Climate Ministry estimates that this initiative could recover about 1,600 kilograms of rare earth permanent magnets from approximately 40,000 discarded air conditioners and refrigerators annually. If expanded to the estimated 3 million discarded appliances nationwide, it could potentially secure up to 120 tons of waste permanent magnets each year.
Based on the results of the pilot project, the government plans to establish measures to improve recycling standards to promote the separation and recovery of permanent magnets. This initiative aims to strengthen the domestic supply chain for critical minerals, which are currently heavily reliant on imports.
Kim Han-seung, the First Vice Minister of the Climate Ministry, stated, "To return rare earth materials from discarded appliances to industrial raw materials, close cooperation between businesses and the government is essential for the recovery and recycling of waste permanent magnets. We will actively promote the expansion of the recovery and recycling system and improve related regulations and technology development to establish a circular supply chain for critical minerals contained in waste resources."
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.