Alison Fritz, a second year Ph.D. student at Stanford University and Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) fellow at NETL, recently won Best Poster in presenting her research into rare earth element (REE) extraction at the 2021 winter meeting of the Critical Materials Institute (CMI).

Nearly 200 people from more than 45 institutions met virtually for CMI’s 2021 winter meeting, which included the sixth annual forum for students and early career researchers, hosted by Colorado School of Mines. CMI early career researchers presented 16 oral presentations and 26 poster presentations, and could network with CMI Team and Affiliates through virtual breakout rooms. It was here that Fritz presented her winning poster, “Technoeconomic Assessment for Extraction of Rare Earth Elements from Coal Feedstocks.”

Fritz’s poster detailed the economic and technological challenges and potential for building a domestic supply chain of critically important REEs, which are used in a multitude of applications from energy and environmental technologies to defense applications and electronics. The lion’s share of REEs are controlled by foreign countries but a domestic supply sourced from Appalachian coal could insulate the U.S. from disruptions in the global supply chain.

Fritz’s award-winning poster first described the breadth of NETL-developed pathways for REE extraction from coal feedstocks, including acid mine drainage (AMD), fly ash, underclay and coal waste products and presents key performance parameters like REE concentrations. The poster then presented a case study of economic viability for scale-up of one of these feedstocks, a novel step-leaching approach for REE extraction from AMD in the Appalachian Coal Basin.

While the economics are currently challenging, Alison’s research identified scenarios in which this pathway could be viable as well as key areas for process optimization to reduce costs. If these targets are met, AMD in Appalachia alone could provide roughly one third of the current annual domestic demand for REE within the United States.  She also explained the methods costs and revenues for the process and sources of uncertainty for scaling up to a commercial level of coal-sourced REE production.  These methods are important to the assessment and comparison of other new REE extraction pathways.

Originally from Washington, D.C., Fritz decided to pursue environmental engineering in high school as a way to combine her passion for environmental stewardship with her academic interests in math and science along with a desire to find practical solutions to the environmental challenges faced by the nation.

“I chose to focus my research on this because REEs are critical for transformative technology development, like electric vehicles, that will reduce our national environmental impact. Additionally, conventional REE mining causes environmental degradation and community health impacts that new technologies may be able to avoid,” Fritz said. “It was really exciting to be able to represent NETL and the research that the REE program is currently doing. The CMI community is also an incredible group of researchers and it was a privilege to learn from the other presenters and posters in the session.”

Fritz’s NETL mentor is Thomas Tarka, an engineer with the Lab’s Energy Process and Analysis Team, for the past year and a half. She said the combination of technology and policy he introduced her to is the type of work that she would like to continue in her career.

“It’s important to help guide the next generation of scientists and engineers who will be charged with overcoming new energy, environmental and technological challenges,” Tarka said. “It’s been a privilege to mentor our Lab’s ORISE fellows like Alison. I’m proud of her achievements so far, and with new researchers like her taking up the reigns, I feel that the future is in good hands.”

The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory develops and commercializes advanced technologies that provide clean energy while safeguarding the environment. NETL’s work supports DOE’s mission to ensure America’s security and prosperity by addressing its energy and environmental challenges through transformative science and technology solutions.