Do you have innovative ideas about technologies and concepts for the recovery of rare earth elements? Are these ideas applicable to recovery from coal and coal byproducts? If so, the Department of Energy (DOE) needs your input.
Under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2014, Congress asked the DOE “to perform an assessment and analysis of the feasibility of economically recovering rare earth elements from coal and coal byproduct streams, such as fly ash, coal refuse, and aqueous effluents,” and “to report its findings and, if determined feasible, to outline a multiyear research and development program for recovering rare earth elements from coal and coal byproduct streams to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Senate.”
In response, the DOE issued a Request for Information (RFI) on September 18, 2014, to identify opportunities to develop high-performance, economically viable, and environmentally benign technologies to recover rare earth elements from coal and coal byproducts. Information and ideas garnered from the RFI could be used to:
- Identify and assess technology and knowledge gaps.
- Forecast potential U.S. benefit.
- Aid in preparation of the report to Congress.
- Contribute to the development of a balanced, multiyear R&D program.
- Assist in preparing one or more competitive Funding Opportunity Announcements.
Specifically, the RFI seeks information and ideas about the most promising options for recovering rare earth elements from dilute and highly distributed coal and coal-byproduct sources. These options need to be either available for large‐scale testing today or currently in R&D stages and scheduled to become available for large‐scale testing in 2020 and deployment in the 2025 timeframe.
Please note that this is a RFI only; it is NOT a request for research proposals. Any future Funding Opportunity Announcements would be issued at a later date by the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) on behalf of the DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy.