LG Electronics has developed a technology to separate and recycle rare-earth permanent magnets from compressors in discarded home appliances. Through a pilot project, it plans to recover about 1.6 tons of rare-earth permanent magnets annually from roughly 40,000 units of waste appliances.
LG Electronics said on the 27th that it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) for a pilot project to recover permanent magnets from discarded refrigerant compressors at the Metropolitan Resource Circulation Center in Yongin, Gyeonggi, with the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment and E-Circulation Governance.
Rare earths are key minerals used in electric vehicles, industrial motors, and home appliances. In appliances, they are used as raw materials for high-performance permanent magnets found in motors and compressors.
Until now, separating rare-earth permanent magnets contained in discarded compressors was difficult because of their strong magnetic force. After recovering some metals such as copper, most permanent magnets were recycled together with scrap iron.
LG Electronics developed a process to separate rare-earth permanent magnets by applying a demagnetization technology that uses a magnetic field to eliminate a magnet's magnetic force. The company said this reduces energy use compared with conventional heat treatment, which removes magnetism by applying high heat, and also prevents magnets from deforming due to heat during recovery.
The process of separating permanent magnets also applies vision artificial intelligence (AI)-based image analysis technology. AI recognizes the size and shape of the discarded compressor, analyzes the location of the internal permanent magnet, and applies the separation process suitable for each product.
LG Electronics expects the pilot project to enable the recovery of about 1.6 tons of rare-earth permanent magnets each year from roughly 40,000 discarded appliances. The recovered magnets will be used to develop technologies that turn them into raw materials for producing new magnets.
Attendees at the signing included Geum Han-seung, first vice minister of the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment; Lee Sang-jin, chair of E-Circulation Governance; Yang Hee-gu, head of the Production Innovation Center at the Manufacturing Technology Institute of LG Electronics; and Jeong Dae-jin, head of the Mold and Quality Research Institute at LG Electronics.
Yang Hee-gu, head of the Production Innovation Center at the Manufacturing Technology Institute of LG Electronics, said, "We will continue to strengthen our technological capabilities in resource circulation to recover core materials from end-of-life products and contribute to realizing a circular economy that reuses them, while also taking the lead in establishing a stable circulation and utilization base for future critical minerals."