Dynamic material flow analysis of neodymium in China from 2000 to 2022

Neodymium（Nd） is a key rare earth metal element required in the process of green and low-carbon transformation of global energy, which is widely used in electronics, household appliances, wind turbines, automobile catalysts, traditional and new energy vehicles and other fields. The importance of neodymium is becoming more and more prominent. It is of great significance to carry out neodymium material flow analysis, quantitatively describe the material flow process of neodymium element in the whole industry chain, and determine potential risk points for improving the stability of neodymium industry chain supply chain. Based on the material flow analysis method, the dynamic material flow analysis model of neodymium in the life cycle is established. The study shows that the supply of neodymium in China is mainly from domestic sources, and the neodymium from other sources account for a relatively small proportion. However, the import of neodymium rare earth concentrates has gradually increased in recent years. With the development of domestic economy, the export volume of neodymium upstream products decreases and the import volume increases; in the middle of the industrial chain, neodymium is mainly used for the production of neodymium iron boron permanent magnet, accounting for 90.28% in 2000 and 93.08% in 2022; in the terminal products, neodymium consumption increases from 672 t in 2000 to 37 896 t in 2022, an increase of 56.3 times. The neodymium resource industry chain in China is complete, and the neodymium in-use stock has a large scale and great recovery potential. However, the neodymium recovery rate is relatively low, so it is urgent to improve the recycling technology level and promote the sustainable development of the rare earth industry.