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French-American chemist makes major breakthrough in recycling of rare earths (www.france24.com)
submitted 4 days ago by GreatWhite_Shark_EarthAndBeingsRightsPerson@piefed.social to c/earthscience@mander.xyz
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THIS IS AN AWESOME OUTSIDE THE BOX DISCOVERY!!!!! It will greatly affect The Environmentally Friendly Industries, can anybody say Solar Panels?

I am so happy, though it is just a short term solution, need to stop needing them all together, referencing the solar panels replacing rare earth metals with peanut shells.

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[-] Paragone@piefed.social 2 points 3 days ago

Uh.. they aren't used in solar-panels, ttbomk.

They're used in neodymium magnets.

They're used in TIG-welding electrodes ( ceriated, etc. )

Without rare-earths, we've got no rare-earth magnets ( & hence no powerful permanent-magnet motors ) AND no TIG-welding ( except for the pure-tungsten ones, & the radioactive thoriated ones ).

You can't stop needing specific elements, or categories-of-elements: chemistry doesn't work that way, sorry.

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[-] GreatWhite_Shark_EarthAndBeingsRightsPerson@piefed.social 1 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago)

Sorry, but I heard the exact opposite, from other sources, I trust.

Just DuckDuckGoed using- Does solar panels use Rare Earth Metals? & found & read all on the first page some- https://green.org/2024/01/30/solar-energys-dependence-on-rare-earth-materials/,

https://www.pv-magazine.com/2019/11/28/are-rare-earths-used-in-solar-panels/,

https://seia.org/blog/how-important-are-rare-earth-elements-to-the-solar-and-storage-industry/,
Only the above link from The Solar Energy Industries Association, claims solar panels are free from Rare Earth Elements/Metals, but admits the converts & Etc. required devices for Solar Panels to work, use Rare Earth Elements/Metals.

https://www.stanfordmaterials.com/blog/major-applications-of-rare-earth-elements-in-renewable-energy.html

&

https://palmetto.com/solar/minerals-in-solar-panels-and-solar-batteries

[-] Paragone@piefed.social 1 points 1 day ago

started reading your 1st link, which calls Indium & Gallium rare-earth elements:

"Rare earth materials like indium, gallium, and tellurium play a crucial role in solar panels."

https://ptable.com/?lang=en#Properties

that 2-row section, at the bottom, THOSE are the rare-earth elements.

Indium & Gallium are in the main body, up above, so is tellurium.

Therefore that article is directly speaking disinformation, which only people who know, or check, the actual periodic-table, will catch.

2nd-link:

"However, a lack of rare earths does not mean that the components of solar modules are harmless. Thin-film PV technologies, for example, contain potentially critical metals such as tellurium, cadmium, indium and silver."

Your links are backing me up, Hoomin..

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this post was submitted on 03 Feb 2026
18 points (100.0% liked)

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