Fluorescent light bulbs can contain either of two types of fluorescent powder, one of which contains rare earth elements such as yttrium and lanthanum. According to company estimates rare earth elements make up 15 per cent of the three tonnes of fluorescent powder recovered each month at its fluorescent bulb recycling plant in Yokohama.
Until now, the rare earth elements have not been separated out during the recycling process but the JFE Engineering unit plans to establish low-cost recovery technology and commercialise the recovery business as early as 2009, either on its own or together with chemical producers.
It is looking at exposing the fluorescent bulbs to electromagnetic waves to separate out those with powder containing rare earth elements, and then selling the fluorescent powder it collects from them. It may also work with chemicals producers that manufacture fluorescent powder to develop a recycling method that crushes all fluorescent bulbs and recovers only the rare earth metals from the powder.