Magnet recycling at BRUGGER: How we keep rare earths in the cycle

Magnets are unsung heroes. They are found in medical devices and wind turbines, and support many technical applications, for example in mechanical engineering and sensor technology. But what happens to them when they have reached the end of their useful life? At BRUGGER, together with our partner Rocklink, we have found an answer: a genuine circular economy for magnetic materials.

Why magnet recycling is important now

Almost all high-performance magnets are based on rare-earth elements such as neodymium, praseodymium and dysprosium (which is why, at BRUGGER, we take care – right from the procurement stage of our raw magnets – to avoid sourcing alloys containing heavy rare-earth elements wherever technically possible. Fewer critical materials mean a better environmental footprint – and often fewer dependencies too). These raw materials also form the backbone of modern electric motors, for example – without them, there would be no e-mobility, no wind energy and no heat pumps.

The problem:

• Mining takes place predominantly in China, causing significant environmental damage

• Europe is over 90 per cent dependent on imports

• To date, over 95 per cent of all end-of-life magnets end up as steel scrap – the valuable rare earths are irretrievably lost

At BRUGGER, magnet waste is an unavoidable by-product of production: offcuts, rejects and surplus raw magnets. In the past, this material would have been lost. Today, we consistently return it to the cycle.

Our approach: Rocklink’s Magcycle system

Together with our partner Rocklink (www.magnetrecycling.de), we recycle magnet waste via Magcycle – efficiently and in a circular manner.
It solves a problem that has often prevented recycling in the past: logistics.

The challenge: Magnets are difficult to transport

Magnetised materials are subject to strict transport regulations (ADR, IATA). Rocklink has developed a clever solution for this: special double-walled packaging with integrated shielding plates neutralises the magnetic field. This allows us to dispatch our waste as a standard parcel – simply, safely and in compliance with the law.

This is how the process works at our company

Step	What happens	Why it’s important
1. Collection	We sort magnetic waste by alloy type (NdFeB, SmCo, AlNiCo) directly at the workplace	Collecting by type improves recycling quality
2. Packaging	Special cardboard boxes with magnetic shielding (up to 25 kg of scrap / max. 30 kg gross weight)	Legal dispatch without hazardous goods requirements
3. Dispatch	Rocklink organises collection or we use standard parcel services	Minimal effort on our part
4. Analysis	Weighing and X-ray fluorescence analysis (XRF) at the recycling centre	Transparent documentation of material composition
5. Recycling	Complete recovery of rare earths	100% of recyclable materials remain in the cycle

Further information: www.magnetrecycling.de

What happens at the recycling plant? The technical process

Modern recycling processes enable the complete recovery of all metals contained within to ‘as-new’ quality. The process combines mechanical, thermal and chemical steps:

From scrap magnets to new magnets: the recycling process step by step

The journey from end-of-life magnets to high-quality secondary raw materials involves several coordinated processing stages.

It all starts with magnetic scrap – that is, production waste, defective magnets or end-of-life magnets from dismantled appliances. As these materials are often still strongly magnetised, they are first thermally demagnetised in special chamber furnaces. Only then can they be processed safely and efficiently.

The next step is mechanical comminution: jaw crushers coarsely crush the material, after which ball mills grind it into a fine powder. This powder is then oxidised in a rotary kiln – a process-critical step that accelerates the subsequent chemical reactions and maximises the yield.

Now the actual hydrometallurgical processing begins, during which the various metals are chemically separated from one another. This results in separate material streams: iron compounds are processed for the steel industry, whilst valuable cobalt is precipitated as cobalt chloride and goes directly into the production of lithium-ion batteries. The rare-earth elements – including neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium – are isolated using specialised extraction processes.

These separated rare-earth elements are then calcined in tunnel kilns, where they are converted into high-purity oxides. The purity levels achieved range from reliable 3N to high-purity 5N grades (99.999 per cent purity).

In the final step, the oxides are reduced in a vacuum induction melting process to form new ferro-rare-earth alloys. These alloys can be flexibly combined with primary materials and serve as the raw material for the production of new high-performance permanent magnets.

The cycle is complete – waste is transformed back into value.

The key processes explained

Processes	How it works	Applications
Hydrogen treatment	Hydrogen penetrates the material and breaks down the crystal structure into a fine powder	Ideal for clean, minimally oxidised production waste
Pyro- and hydrometallurgy	Thermal pre-treatment + chemical separation of the elements	For contaminated or incorporated magnets. Rocklink’s core process – delivers oxides certified to ISO 14021.
Solvent extraction	Liquid–liquid separation isolates individual rare earth elements (Nd, Pr, Dy, Tb)	High-purity recovery for new production

The result: The recovered rare-earth oxides achieve purity levels of 99.9% and are certified as 100% recycled material in accordance with ISO 14021. They can be blended directly with virgin material to manufacture new high-performance magnets.

The benefits at a glance

For the environment

• Up to 75% lower energy consumption compared with primary extraction (source: Final report of the e-Recmet study, published by EBP Schweiz AG)

• No radioactive residues (a problem associated with rare-earth mining)

• Elimination of toxic waste streams from mining

For the economy

• Reduced reliance on imports from Asian suppliers

• Stable supply chains through the European circular economy

• Transparent remuneration based on current metal prices

For BRUGGER and our customers

• Proof of sustainability for our products

• Legally compliant disposal with comprehensive documentation

• Minimal effort thanks to a simple collection system
  
  

Legal certainty included

Magnetic scrap is legally classified as waste under Section 3 of the German Closed-Loop Economy Act (KrWG). The Magcycle system ensures that all regulations are complied with.

Our conclusion: the circular economy can work

This example shows that, for companies such as BRUGGER, the technology is ready and the logistics have been practically resolved through strong partners such as Rocklink. Often, all that is missing is awareness – and the first step.

At BRUGGER, we have taken that step. With Rocklink as our partner, we are closing the loop for our magnetic materials and making our contribution to a resource-efficient economy.

Sources and further information

1. TU Darmstadt: Magnet recycling – Sustainable reuse of rare earths
   tu-darmstadt.de

2. Fraunhofer IWKS: Magnet recycling pays off
   fraunhofer.de

3. Fraunhofer IWKS: Recycling of rare-earth permanent magnets (PDF)
   iwks.fraunhofer.de

4. VDA: FAT Series 387 – Recycling of magnets
   vda.de

5. doobloo AG: Recycling of rare-earth magnets
   doobloo.com

6. University of Duisburg-Essen: Recycling of Permanent Magnets (PhD thesis)
   uni-due.de

7. CEP: Recycling of green future technologies
   cep.eu