Recovery of a NdFeB magnet-rich fraction from full-scale industrial treatment of end-of-life electric scooter motors

Demand for neodymium-iron-boron (NdFeB) magnets is rising due to their use in clean energy technologies, such as wind turbines and electric cars. Their production based on rare earth elements (REE) creates significant geopolitical and supply chain dependencies. Recycling could mitigate this reliance, yet progress is limited by the absence of a dedicated recovery supply chain. Moreover, devices rich in NdFeB magnets - such as electric motors - are typically processed in plants optimized for the recovery of iron, copper, and aluminum, so REE content is often dispersed within ferrous waste streams because of the ferromagnetic nature of magnets. The aim of our study is to apply a thermal demagnetization step to electric motors prior to the traditional recovery operations for separating ferrous and non-ferrous streams, such as shredding and magnetic separation, to separate a magnet-enriched fraction from the rest of the material flows, without disrupting conventional recycling processes. This approach enables the disintegration of motor components while preserving the downstream recovery of base metals, ultimately producing a magnet-enriched fraction within the non-ferrous matrix. A comprehensive material flow analysis was conducted to quantify and visualize these recovery pathways. Results demonstrated that a portion of the magnet mass bypassed the drum separator and was successfully recovered through an additional magnetic screening step, yielding a magnet-enriched fraction with a final concentration of 50.8% w/w. These findings demonstrate the potential for optimizing pretreatment and separation processes to enhance both NdFeB recovery and separation efficiency, supporting the development of more sustainable magnet recycling systems.