Unravelling the necessity of conservation and recycling of rare earth elements from the perspective of global need

Rare earth elements (REEs) play an indispensable role in the manufacturing of hybrid cars, wind turbines, compact fluorescent lights, flat screen televisions, mobile phones, disc drives, and defence technologies due to their varied chemical, magnetic, and luminescent properties. The unequal spreading of REE resources creates non-equilibrium in the utilisation and exploitation of them among the nations. They are implanted in most of the electronic and magnetic products and demand for them continues to increase in their production. Such dependency on REE poses serious risks to the dependant country's economy and military complex. It creates a great deal of harmful waste. Around 1% of the REE are recycled from end-products. Scientific interest of recycling REEs is constantly rising due to the increased use of REEs. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the distribution of REEs and various recycle methods.