The Implementation Of A Novel Approach To The Rare Earth Magnets Recycling

Rare Earth magnets have been used in different industrial sectors: household utilities, automotive applications, informatics sensors, etc. Rare Earth magnets show the best magnetic performance, predominantly in the case of Neodymium magnets. However, the economic aspect concerning the raw magnetic materials affects many of the magnet devices, mainly considering the instability of the raw material market. For these reasons, recycling NdFeB magnets is considered a promising solution. Different techniques are available, but they are generally expensive or very dangerous. This work proposes a new approach to recycling the NdFeB sintered magnets using a particular mechanical technique without using Hydrogen, resulting in a safer, less complicated and cheaper process than chemical methods. Based on an impact mill, the process has been performed to grind the magnets recovered from the hard disks. The operation was conducted in a vacuum. Finally, some bonded magnets with recycled powder have been prepared and characterized.