The term "rare earth elements" elicits an image of some exotic alchemy in a distant fantasy world. In reality, they are critical minerals used in most of today's modern technologies and key for the much-needed global green transition. In a sense, they are like the Vibranium (of Marvel movies) of our high-tech society.  

"Rare earth elements are not rare," says Dr. Huy Dang, assistant professor of Environmental Chemistry in the Trent School of the Environment and Department of Chemistry at Trent. "Some of these elements are as abundant as copper or lead in the Earth's upper continental crust."

“Nevertheless, we only started paying attention to them after discovering their applications for renewable energy, electronics, electric vehicles, medical, and other applications." 

Despite these critical applications, the extraction and processing of these elements have resulted in serious adverse environmental impacts around the globe, and there is a lack of regulations or policies to mitigate their effects on the environment. 

Enabling more sustainable development

Professor Dang's research tackles these knowledge gaps by teaming up with Drs. Neil Emery, Karen Thompson, and Shaun Watmough at Trent University, and other researchers from Laval University and the Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique. The team recently received $1.5M from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) to study the mixed blessing of these critical minerals - i.e. how they affect Canada's land and aquatic ecosystems through their lifecycle – from mining to processing to manufacturing and recycling.  

The knowledge gained will not only aid in developing environmental regulations but also enable the development of new applications in bio-technologies, agriculture and forestry for more sustainable development. 

Such expanded potential end use of the research is possible thanks to a strong partnership between academics, government (the Ministère de l'Environnement, de la Lutte contre les Changements Climatiques, de la Faune et des Parcs of Québec), municipalities (City of Markham), industrial leaders and farmers pioneering in sustainable practices (V6 Agronomy, Woodleigh Farms) and not-for-profit organization championing in community-based science (Friends of the Muskoka Watershed).  

Canada as global leader in sustainability

"Canada has a reserve of 15 million tonnes of rare earth elements," says Prof. Dang. "So, we play a crucial role in the global supply of these critical minerals for the green transition. Canada is also well placed to become a global leader in sustainable and environmentally responsible management of natural resources."  

He says the traditional linear supply chain model should be replaced by circular flows of materials to maximize the value of these resources. 

"Our project aims to develop new applications of rare earth elements based on the byproducts of other industries that might be naturally rich in these resources. That means we divert these byproducts from the waste stream and decrease the need for mineral extraction." 

The success of this research project relies on the multidisciplinary expertise in environmental and analytical chemistry, ecotoxicology, sustainable agriculture, plant sciences and biogeochemistry at Trent University and the world-class analytical facilities at the Trent Water Quality Centre. The project is also uniquely positioned to offer training opportunities to sixteen graduate students and postdoctoral researchers in fundamental and applied sciences of critical and strategic mineral resources.