Recovery method of rare earth elements from sludge containing rare earth elements

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for recovering rare earth elements from rare earth element-containing sludge in which, by melting rare earth element- containing sludge together with rare earth element-containing solid scrap, magnet waste powder or rare earth metal scrap in the heating part of a melting furnace, a compound essentially consisting of rare earth elements and an alloy composed of elements other than rare earth elements are separated and recovered. SOLUTION: In this invention, by utilizing the chemical properties of rare earth elements, a rare earth compound and metals other than rare earths or the alloy thereof are efficiently separated from rare earth element-containing sludge. Thereby, a recycling raw material small in impurities, large in rare earth components and high in purity can easily and economically be recovered.