Rhodia AdvancesRare-Earths Business

Rhodia, which was recently bought by Solvay, has undertaken two projects to advance its rare-earths business. The firm plans to recycle four rare-earth metals from magnets used in windmills, electric vehicles, and hard disk drives. Rhodia says it will obtain rare-earth mixtures from magnet recycling specialists and refine neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium at its plant in La Rochelle, France. In a second project, Rhodia has commissioned a new plant at its Liyang, China, site that produces rare-earth-based compounds for automotive catalysts. The firm currently produces rare earths at the site for the electroluminescence market.