Johnson Matthey Technology Review - Volume 61, Issue 2, 2017

Iridium as a barrier coating is an important area of high-temperature application. In Part I, the introduction was presented and the different deposition processes were reviewed (1). This paper, Part II, describes the texture and structure evolution, mechanical properties, growth mechanisms and applications of Ir coatings. The mechanisms of micropore formation after high-temperature treatment are also investigated in some detail.

The International Platinum Group Metals Association (IPA) carried out the first ever industry-wide life cycle assessment on platinum group metals (pgms) which included data from a majority of the industry in both primary and secondary production, as well as one major application of pgms, i.e. their use in a car exhaust catalyst. The results, discussed in this paper, identify that the major impact (72%) of the production of pgms on the environment is from power consumption during mining and ore beneficiation; they also demonstrate that the impacts of pgm production are mitigated by the use of pgm-based automotive catalysts. The exercise provides benchmarking for the industry and a greater understanding of the impacts and benefits of pgms.

The solutions being developed for a sustainable future are technologically complex and demanding; relying on ‘high-tech’ raw materials. Many of these materials face significant supply risk. Business, government, national and international organisations are increasingly focusing on these critical raw materials (CRMs). This paper describes the strategies and innovations being developed to manage supply risk using rare earth elements and magnets as examples. The ongoing need to find substitute materials and improve efficiency, recycling and recovery of CRMs provides exciting opportunities for fundamental research and commercial innovation.

Numerous European industries are heavily dependent on imported rare earth element (REE) raw materials. This has created a need for the European Union (EU) to ensure a sustainable supply of REE minerals, as well as develop from the ground up the currently non-existent European REE extraction and processing industry. In order to support this, the European Commission, through the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) scheme, funded the EURARE project which runs from 1st January 2013 to 31st December 2017. Through the EURARE project, selected European REE deposits have been researched and in certain cases identified resources were successfully processed for REE production. Several REE deposits across Europe have been the focus of detailed geological field and laboratory work. Mineral concentrates obtained from the Norra Kärr deposit in Sweden, the Kringlerne deposit in Greenland and the Kvanefjeld deposit in Greenland, Rødberg ore from Norway and bauxite residue from Greece were tested from laboratory to pilot scale by means of conventional and innovative metallurgical processing. The novel technologies developed provide efficiency and selectivity in various steps of the metallurgical processing, from ore beneficiation to metal production. A road map for sustainable REE production in Europe is now being developed, which includes an evaluation of the environmental benefits and risks of the EURARE technologies.

The high conductivity of silver and its oxidation resistance make it the metal of choice for automotive applications in defogging and other areas. There is scope to reduce the cost by reducing the content of silver, a costly metal. This article reports the results from testing formulations with reduced silver content. A range of silver-coated and base metal fillers were tested however none of these resulted in performance to match the commercially available silver automotive pastes.