Europium (Eu) is often regarded as a critical mineral due to by-product nature, importance to lighting technologies, and global supply concentration. However, the existing indicator-based criticality assessments have limitations to capture Eu’s supply chain information and thus fall short of reflecting its true criticality. This study quantified the flows and stocks of Eu in mainland China from 1990 to 2018. Results show that: (1) China’s Eu demand decreased by 75% from 2011 to 2018, as a result of the lighting technology transition from fluorescent lamps to light-emitting diodes, which significantly reduced Eu’s importance; (2) The supply of Eu mined as a by-product kept increasing together with the growing rare earth production, which caused a substantial supply surplus being ≈ 1,900 t by 2018; (3) Despite the leading role of China in global Eu production, Eu mined in China was exported mainly in the form of intermediate and final products, and ≈ 90% Eu embedded in domestically produced final products was used for export recently. This study indicates that Eu’s criticality is not as severe as previously assessed, and highlights the necessity of material flow analysis for a holistic and dynamic view on the entire supply chain of critical minerals.

Byproduct Surplus: Lighting the Depreciative Europium in China's Rare Earth Boom

All reactors studied in the Generation IV International Forum use control rods for regulation and/or shutdown. In this chapter are first described the main neutron absorber materials (Ag-In-Cd alloy, Hf, B4C boron carbide) used in present generation II, generation III, or prototypic reactors then some other materials of interest in the perspective of their use in Generation IV projects. The first section recalls the concepts and materials used in current reactors, material resources, present limits, and prospects for use in the Generation IV framework. The second section presents the main properties of the currently used materials in respect to the requirements to be satisfied for the neutron absorbers: neutron absorption, absorption products, waste management issues, and physical properties. We then describe the behavior of the neutron absorber materials in use, first the classical ones then different materials with good potential in the Generation IV frame. As a conclusion, it appears the classical materials meet most of the requirements of the Generation IV projects, but present some limitations. These could be overcome by new materials or concept improvements; this requires an accurate design of the reactors and in-pile experiments.

Absorber materials for Generation IV reactors

The long-term operation of three reactors and the radiochemical plant of the Mining-and-Chemical Combine (MCC), Russia’s largest producer of weapons-grade plutonium, has resulted in radioactive contamination of the Yenisei River floodplain. From 1995 to 2016, we found more than 200 radioactive particles (RP) in the Yenisei floodplain, downstream of the MCC. Analytical characterization showed that most of the RP were fuel particles, which were carried into the river after incidents at the MCC reactors. Having compared the 137Cs/134Cs ratios in the particles, we determined three time intervals when the RP were formed. The plutonium isotope ratios (238Pu/239,240Pu) vary substantially between the particles and indicate several different source terms. In addition to fuel RP, we found particles that only contained activation products (60Co or europium isotopes). SEM and γ-spectrometry showed that the cobalt particles could have originated from the corrosion of the reactor coolant system and the europium particles – from the damaged compensating rods. No europium particles have been found anywhere else in the world. The presence of RP from different sources (fuel, cobalt, and europium particles) in the Yenisei River floodplain makes this region a unique site for studying environmental effects of the particles. These RP represent point sources of radioecological significance.

Unique diversity of radioactive particles found in the Yenisei River floodplain

Phase-out strategies for incandescent bulbs in favor of advanced energy-efficiency lighting systems such as fluorescent lamps and solid-state technology have considerably reduced the energy use for lighting, but have also resulted in dependence on many critical materials like rare earth elements and shifted the attention to sustainable use and recovery of resources. In this work, a dynamic material flow model was developed to analyze the socio-economic metabolism of europium in the EU–28. The analysis shows that europium marked product turnover and progress in lighting efficiency, with this element being employed both in traditional and novel lighting technology to provide luminescence. The results also demonstrate that the current anthropogenic reserve could constitute an attractive source of secondary europium with substantial potentials for environmental benefits. However, nonexistent recycling and market forces hinder strategies for material circularity. In particular, the transition from fluorescent lamps to solid-state technology is quickly decreasing the demand for europium. This trend adds further constraints to the creation of a sustainable recycling industry for europium, with primary sources that might remain the preferable route to supply phosphors to future lighting systems.

Shedding Light on the Anthropogenic Europium Cycle in the EU–28. Marking Product Turnover and Energy Progress in the Lighting Sector

Ball-milling properties and sintering behavior of Fe-Tm 2 O 3 mixture powders

Data are presented on the activity of europium isotopes accumulated in the absorbing elements of the control units of propulsion reactors (7.4·1018 Bq), BN-600 and BOR-60 fast-neutron reactors (2.6·1017 Bq), and the SM-2 research reactor (4.8·1015 Bq). A universal computational procedure was developed for investigating the radiation characteristics of absorbing elements. Features of this procedure are demonstrated for the example simulating the isotopic composition of SM-2 absorbing elements. It is shown that the computed and experimental values of the parameters of the height distribution of the activity of europium isotopes agree within the limits of computational and measurement errors, and the computed total activity over the volume of an absorption element is 15% higher than the experimental value.

Radiation Characteristics of Europium-Containing Control Rods in a SM-2 Reactor after Long-Term Operation

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Radiation Characteristics of Europium-Containing Control Rods in a SM-2 Reactor after Long-Term Operation