Life Cycle Assessment of Erbium Oxide and Scandium Oxide

Abstract:

The demand for rare earths in aluminum alloy industry has experienced substantial growth in recent years. The erbium and scandium are two effective rare earth additives, mainly due to its remarkable improvement to aluminum alloy performance. However, the production process of rare earth has caused significant environmental problems. Hence, the analysis of environmental impacts associated with erbium and scandium processing is gaining importance. In this study, a life cycle analysis on the environment impacts of erbium oxide (Er₂O₃) and scandium oxide (Sc₂O₃) was carried out based on life cycle assessment (LCA) method. The life cycle assessment results showed that the production of 1 kg of Er₂O₃ and Sc₂O₃ generated 21.7 kg CO₂ eq. and 743 kg CO₂ eq., respectively. The leaching and purification process accounting for 95% of the overall water usage of Er₂O₃ production. For Sc₂O₃, energy and chemical consumption played a key role in reducing environmental impacts. Furthermore, Er₂O₃ appeared to have less environmental impact than Sc₂O₃ on most environmental issues. A detailed review of contribution was conducted and recommendations for further research were given.

• Periodical: Materials Science Forum (Volume 944)
• Pages: 1130-1136
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/MSF.944.1130
• Online since: January 2019
• Authors: Xu Dong Zhang, Feng Gao*, Xian Zheng Gong, Zhi Hong Wang, Yu Liu
• Keywords: Erbium Oxide, Life Cycle Assessment, Rare Earth, Scandium Oxide

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