A technology-critical element (TCE) is a chemical element that is critical to modern and emerging technologies, [1] [2] [3] resulting in a striking increase in their usage. [1] [4] [5] [6] Similar terms include critical elements, [7] critical materials, [1] critical raw materials, [5] [8] energy-critical elements [4] and elements of security. [9]
Many advanced engineering applications, such as clean-energy production, communications and computing, use emergent technologies that utilize numerous chemical elements. [4] In 2013, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) created the Critical Materials Institute (CMI) to address the issue. [10] In 2015, the European COST Action TD1407 created a network of scientists working and interested on TCEs, from an environmental perspective to potential human health threats. [11]
A study estimated losses of 61 metals to help the development of circular economy strategies, showing that usespans of, often scarce, tech-critical metals are short. [12] [13]
The set of elements usually considered as TCEs vary depending on the source, but they usually include:
Seventeen rare-earth elements
The six platinum-group elements
Twelve assorted elements
TCEs have a variety of engineering applications in fields such as energy storage, electronics, telecommunication, and transportation. [14] These elements are utilized in cellular phones, batteries, solar panel(s), electric motor(s), and fiber-optic cables. Emerging technologies also incorporate TCEs. Most notably, TCEs are used in the data networking of smart devices tied to the Internet of Things (IoT) and automation. [14]
Element | Compound | Applications |
---|---|---|
Gallium (Ga) | GaAs, GaN | Wafers for (a) integrated circuits in high-performance computers and telecommunications equipment and (b) LEDs, photodetectors, solar cells and medical equipment |
Trimethyl Ga, triethyl Ga | Epitaxial layering process for the production of LEDs | |
Germanium (Ge) | Ge | Substrate for wafers for high-efficiency photovoltaic cells |
Ge single crystals | Detectors (airport security) | |
Hafnium (Hf) | Hf | Aerospace alloys and ceramics |
HfO2 | Semiconductors and data storage devices | |
Indium (In) | In2O5Sn | Transparent conductive thin film coatings on flat-panel displays (e.g. liquid crystal displays) |
Niobium (Nb) | CuNbGaSe (CIGS) | Thin film solar cells |
HSLA ferro-Nb (60 % Nb), Nb metal | High-grade structural steel for vehicle bodies | |
NiNb | Superalloys for jet engines and turbine blades | |
Nb powder, Nb oxide | Surface acoustic wave filters (sensor and touch screen technologies) | |
Platinum-group metals (PGMs) | Pd, Pt, Rh metals | Catalytic converters for the car industry |
Platinum (Pt) | Pt metal | Catalyst refining of petroleum and magnetic coating of computer hard discs |
Iridium (Ir) | Ir | Crucibles for the electronics industry |
Osmium (Os) | Os alloys | High wear applications such as instrument pivots and electrical contacts |
Tantalum (Ta) | Ta oxide | Capacitors in automotive electronics, personal computers and cell phones |
Ta metal | Pacemakers, prosthetic devices | |
Tellurium (Te) | CdTe | Solar cells |
HgCdTe, BiTe | Thermal cooling devices and electronics products | |
Zirconium (Zr) | Zr | Ceramics for solid oxide fuel cells, jet turbine coatings, and smartphones |
The extraction and processing of TCEs may cause adverse environmental impacts. The reliance on TCEs and critical metals like cobalt can run the risk of the “green curse,” or using certain metals in green technologies whose mining may be damaging to the environment. [15]
The clearing of soil and deforestation that is involved with mining can impact the surrounding biodiversity through land degradation and habitat loss. Acid mine drainage can kill surrounding aquatic life and harm ecosystems. Mining activities and leaching of TCEs can pose significant hazards to human health. Wastewater produced by the processing of TCEs can contaminate groundwater and streams. Toxic dust containing concentrations of metals and other chemicals can be released into the air and surrounding bodies of water.
Deforestation caused by mining results in the release of stored carbon from the ground to the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide (CO2). [15]
Neodymium is a chemical element with the symbol Nd and atomic number 60. It is the fourth member of the lanthanide series and is considered to be one of the rare-earth metals. It is a hard, slightly malleable, silvery metal that quickly tarnishes in air and moisture. When oxidized, neodymium reacts quickly producing pink, purple/blue and yellow compounds in the +2, +3 and +4 oxidation states. It is generally regarded as having one of the most complex spectra of the elements. Neodymium was discovered in 1885 by the Austrian chemist Carl Auer von Welsbach, who also discovered praseodymium. It is present in significant quantities in the minerals monazite and bastnäsite. Neodymium is not found naturally in metallic form or unmixed with other lanthanides, and it is usually refined for general use. Neodymium is fairly common—about as common as cobalt, nickel, or copper—and is widely distributed in the Earth's crust. Most of the world's commercial neodymium is mined in China, as is the case with many other rare-earth metals.
Tantalum is a chemical element with the symbol Ta and atomic number 73. Previously known as tantalium, it is named after Tantalus, a figure in Greek mythology. Tantalum is a very hard, ductile, lustrous, blue-gray transition metal that is highly corrosion-resistant. It is part of the refractory metals group, which are widely used as components of strong high-melting-point alloys. It is a group 5 element, along with vanadium and niobium, and it always occurs in geologic sources together with the chemically similar niobium, mainly in the mineral groups tantalite, columbite and coltan.
The rare-earth elements (REE), also called the rare-earth metals or rare earths or, in context, rare-earth oxides, and sometimes the lanthanides, are a set of 17 nearly indistinguishable lustrous silvery-white soft heavy metals. Compounds containing rare earths have diverse applications in electrical and electronic components, lasers, glass, magnetic materials, and industrial processes.
A neodymium magnet (also known as NdFeB, NIB or Neo magnet) is a permanent magnet made from an alloy of neodymium, iron, and boron to form the Nd2Fe14B tetragonal crystalline structure.
The exploitation or destruction of natural resources is the use of natural resources for economic growth, sometimes with a negative connotation of accompanying environmental degradation. Environmental degradation can result from depletion of natural resources, this would be accompanied by negative effects to the economic growth of the effected areas.
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A samarium–cobalt (SmCo) magnet, a type of rare-earth magnet, is a strong permanent magnet made of two basic elements: samarium and cobalt.
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Cobalt is a chemical element with the symbol Co and atomic number 27. As with nickel, cobalt is found in the Earth's crust only in a chemically combined form, save for small deposits found in alloys of natural meteoric iron. The free element, produced by reductive smelting, is a hard, lustrous, silvery metal.
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