Ímãs permanentes, Especialmente ímãs permanentes NDFEB com base em elementos de terras raras, são amplamente utilizados em veículos elétricos, geração de energia eólica, industrial automation and other fields. No entanto, its production process is accompanied by a lot of energy consumption and carbon emissions, especially in ore mining, smelting, sintering and other links. With the advancement of the “dual carbon” goal, more and more manufacturing companies have begun to explore how to reduce the carbon footprint in the production process of permanent magnets through low-carbon manufacturing methods.
Overview of carbon emissions in the production process of permanent magnets
The traditional permanent magnet manufacturing process mainly includes multiple high-energy-consuming links such as rare earth metal smelting, alloy smelting, crushing, molding, sintering and surface treatment. Especially in the process of rare earth metal smelting, high-temperature electrolysis consumes a lot of electricity, generally dominated by coal-fired power, resulting in a high carbon emission intensity.
| Manufacturing process | Carbon emissions from traditional manufacturing (kg CO₂/ton of permanent magnet) | Potential for improvement in low-carbon manufacturing |
| Rare earth ore smelting | 5200 | Using clean energy can reduce 40~60% |
| Alloy smelting | 2800 | Recycling rare earth materials can reduce primary smelting |
| Sintering process | 3500 | Replacing gas furnaces with electric furnaces can reduce carbon emissions by 30% |
| Surface treatment | 600 | Introducing green chemicals to reduce pollution |
As can be seen from the table, the carbon emissions of the entire permanent magnet production process may be as high as 12,000 kg of carbon dioxide per ton of product. If low-carbon technical means are adopted, such as using renewable energy, optimizing process parameters, and increasing material recycling, it is expected that the carbon emission level will be significantly reduced.
Key paths to low-carbon manufacturing
- Energy structure optimization
Using clean energy such as hydropower and photovoltaics to replace traditional coal-fired power is a direct means to reduce carbon emissions per unit of energy consumption. For example, some companies build solar power stations at rare earth smelting bases to achieve “green electricity on-site use”.
- Process energy-saving upgrade
The application of high-efficiency electric furnaces and intelligent temperature control systems can reduce power waste; and refined sintering control technology can reduce excess heating time, thereby reducing carbon emissions.
- Material recycling and reuse
Rare earth elements in scrapped motors and old magnets are recycled through hydrometallurgy or vacuum remelting technology, which can reduce carbon emissions by more than 50% compared to mining new mines.
- Digital manufacturing and carbon monitoring system
Introducing a carbon monitoring platform and an intelligent manufacturing system to achieve full-process tracking of carbon emissions and provide a basis for enterprises to optimize their decisions.
Summary
Although the application of low-carbon manufacturing in permanent magnet production is still in the stage of continuous optimization, it has shown significant emission reduction potential in terms of clean energy substitution, introduction of recycling processes and intelligent system construction. For manufacturing companies, the implementation of low-carbon initiatives will not only help to cope with increasingly stringent environmental regulations, but also enhance brand competitiveness and lay a solid foundation for sustainable development.
As a global leading manufacturer of high-performance rare earth permanent magnet materials, JLMAG actively promotes green and low-carbon transformation and is committed to leading the sustainable development of the industry through technological innovation and green manufacturing. For more information, please visit our website [https://jlmag-innovation.com/]
