Kirill Alexandrov

Jun 3, 2024 | enviromicro-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com | Raquel Rocha |Kirill Alexandrov |Colin Scott

INTRODUCTION Rare earth elements (REEs) include the 4f-block lanthanide series (atomic number 57–70) and three d-block elements: lutetium, scandium and yttrium (Cheisson & Schelter, 2019). With broad applications in electronic components, catalysts, lasers, glass, medicine and permanent magnets, REEs are becoming increasingly important to the global economy, with global production of REEs growing from 100,000 metric tonnes in 2015 to 300,000 metric tonnes in 2022 (Liu et al., 2023).