• Resources Recycling
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• v.32 no.6
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• pp.67-78
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• 2023

The rare metals used as raw materials in high-tech industries undergo changes in demand structures and supply chains following domestic industrial structural shifts and technological advancements, exhibiting high price volatility. Therefore, it is necessary to periodically analyze changes in the demand structures of rare metals. Since domestic demand for most rare metals relies on imports in Korea, the changes in domestic demand for rare metals can be identified by analyzing changes in their trade structure. In the present study, we analyze the changes in trade volume, trade growth rate, trade rankings, and trading countries from 2000 to 2022 for 35 rare metals, categorized into five types-ores, metals, alloys, compounds, and scrap. The trade of the raw materials of rare metals in Korea has generally increased since the 2000s, except for a significant decline in 2009 and 2016. The total trade volume, encompassing both exports and imports, has increased by approximately tenfold in 2022 compared to 2001. Until the mid-2010s, the trade of the raw materials of rare metals was primarily focused on those used in steel-manufacturing such as silicon, nickel, chrome, molybdenum, manganese, and others. However, after that period, there has been an increase in the trade of platinum group metals like palladium, rhodium, platinum, and the raw materials of rare metals for secondary battery-manufacturing such as lithium and cobalt. Particularly in 2022, lithium has become the largest share in trade of the raw materials of rare metals in Korea, due to the price surge and increase in demand.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.35 no.7
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• pp.464-471
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• 2013

In this study, the resource efficiency and future metal resource requirement in photovoltaic (PV) production system were evaluated by using material balance data and life cycle assesment (LCA) method. As a result, in the resource efficiency of ferrous and non-ferrous metal, lead and tin had higher resource efficiency than other materials in all PV systems (SC-Si, MC-Si, CI(G)S, CdTe). In the resource efficiency of rare metals, gallium and rhenium in silicon system and rhenium and rhodium in thin-film system ranked as the first and second high resource efficiency. In case of rare earth metal, gadolinium and samarium took higher resource efficiency. The results of the future metal resource requirement in PV systems showed that 2,545,670 ton of aluminium, 92,069 ton of zinc, 22,044 ton of copper, 1,695 ton of tin and 31 ton of nickel will be needed by 2030 in South Korea, except resource recycling supplement.