How to break the problem of Lanthanum and Cerium overcapacity

On April 29, at the second China rare Earth Industry chain Forum held in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, industry insiders pointed out that the surplus of lanthanum and cerium products has always been a common problem in the development of rare earth industry, and it is also a key problem restricting the development of rare earth industry.

Some analysts believe that the surplus of lanthanum and cerium products is mainly due to the lack of deep processing capacity of rare earths such as lanthanum and cerium, which is embodied in three aspects: lack of advanced core technology; insufficient domestic consumption of rare earth functional materials and rare earth application products; there are still problems in the development of industrialization.

According to incomplete statistics, the total annual output of rare earths in China is about 150000 tons, of which about 90, 000 tons are lanthanum and cerium products. The main applications of lanthanum and cerium are hydrogen storage alloys, catalysts, polishing powders and rare earth ferrosilicon alloys. The annual consumption is about 40, 000 tons. The annual surplus of lanthanum and cerium products is more than 50, 000 tons.

In fact, the problem of excess lanthanum and cerium products is also the result of the contradiction and deviation between the short-term and long-term goals of the rare earth industry. In the short term, it is urgent to strengthen the added value of lanthanum and cerium products and maintain the high-quality development of the rare earth industry; but in the long run, it is the ultimate goal to upgrade lanthanum, cerium and other rare earth products and get rid of the vicious circle of low added value. the ultimate goal is to make the rare earth industry embark on the road of sustainable development.

What can really get rid of the surplus of lanthanum and cerium products and create a huge amount of sustainable wealth for the products is the processing field of new rare earth materials with high added value and high technology content, which has become the consensus of the rare earth industry. In the process of improving the added value of some rare earth products, it is particularly important to do a good job in the deep processing of rare earth products such as lanthanum and cerium.

First of all, it is necessary to speed up the development of rare earth products such as lanthanum and cerium to the field of deep processing and application, further promote the extension and upgrading of the rare earth industry chain, and promote the development of mid-stream materials with downstream application development. promote the extension of the rare earth industry chain to both ends with high added value. For example, the rare earth catalysts needed by the oil industry have a great demand for rare earth elements such as lanthanum and cerium, and increasing the application of rare earth catalysts in the oil industry can further increase the consumption of lanthanum and cerium which is already in excess production and optimize the consumption structure of rare earths.

China needs to use 180000-200000 tons of petroleum cracking catalysts every year. According to the international standard of 4%-6% content of lanthanum and cerium in petroleum cracking catalysts, the annual consumption of lanthanum and cerium is about 8000-12000 tons. With the implementation of higher standards of oil products, the needs of PetroChina, Sinopec and CNOOC will once again increase the amount of lanthanum and cerium in petroleum catalytic cracking agents, which is of great benefit to the upper and middle reaches of rare earths.

Secondly, we should give full play to the positive role of the relevant government departments, especially the downstream application management departments, and work together to promote the all-round development of the industry. Include lanthanum, cerium and other rare earth products in the catalogue of encouraging development, and provide financial support to enterprises producing corresponding products; tilt the establishment of relevant R & D funds and key projects to the field of deep processing and application of rare earth elements such as lanthanum and cerium; local governments should also attach importance to the implementation of deep processing projects for rare earth elements such as lanthanum and cerium.

The most effective way is to establish a linkage mechanism of trade, production and scientific research at home and abroad, feedback users' new demand for lanthanum and cerium products to the production and scientific research departments in time, promote the deep processing of excess resources such as lanthanum and cerium, and improve the market competitiveness of the products. Efforts should be made to research and develop new applications of lanthanum and cerium, increase the application of lanthanum and cerium in metal smelting, agriculture, environmental protection and other fields, and solve the problem of uneven application as far as possible. At the same time, strengthen the research and development of rare earth related equipment production, break through the bottleneck of key technical equipment in the production of rare earth functional materials, and improve the quality of products.