Surrogate modeling and optimization of the leaching process in a rare earth elements recovery plant

Critical minerals (CMs) and Rare Earth Elements (REEs) play a vital role in crucial infrastructure technologies such as renewable energy generation and batteries. Recovering them from waste materials has recently been found to significantly reduce environmental impact and supply chain costs related...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Computers & chemical engineering Vol. 197; no. 2025; p. 109061
Main Authors:	Fardis, Dimitrios M., Oh, Donghyun, Sahinidis, Nikolaos V., Garciadiego, Alejandro, Lee, Andrew
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	United States Elsevier Ltd 01.06.2025 Elsevier
Subjects:	Critical minerals recovery plant INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY Optimization Rare earth elements Surrogate modeling Rare earth elements Surrogate modeling Critical minerals recovery plant Optimization
ISSN:	0098-1354
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	Critical minerals (CMs) and Rare Earth Elements (REEs) play a vital role in crucial infrastructure technologies such as renewable energy generation and batteries. Recovering them from waste materials has recently been found to significantly reduce environmental impact and supply chain costs related to these materials. In this work, we investigate surrogate modeling techniques aimed to simplify the modeling, simulation, and optimization of the leaching processes involved in CM and REE recovery flowsheets. As there is currently a lack of systematic studies on this topic, we perform extensive computational testing to ascertain which surrogate models are easier to construct and offer high predictive accuracy. Our results suggest that sparse quadratic models balance predictive accuracy and computational efficiency. Training and using these surrogates for global optimization of the leaching process requires two orders of magnitude fewer measurements and is up to four orders of magnitude faster than optimizing the original simulation using equation-oriented optimization or derivative-free optimization. •Which surrogate modeling techniques are accurate for critical mineral processes?•Can we build accurate surrogate models of critical processes with few measurements?•Can we model and optimize critical mineral processes with simple surrogate models?
Bibliography:	NONE USDOE Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM), Office of Resource Sustainability
ISSN:	0098-1354
DOI:	10.1016/j.compchemeng.2025.109061