Applying design of experiments to evaluate economic feasibility of rare-earth element recovery

Abstract

This study applies design of experiments (DOE) methods in the conduct of a techno-economic assessment (TEA) on a newly developed rare-earth element (REE) recovery process. The goal of this effort is to identify main factors that affect the profitability of the process. We construct a factorial design with net profit as the response, where the experimental data are generated by simulation of different scenarios. The effects of different factors and their interactions are determined. Based on these results, a desirable recovery strategy is proposed. It is envisioned that the methods applied in the study can be utilized in other situations to promote the application of TEA in value recovery approaches.