Mary Anne Alvin currently serves as the Critical Minerals Processing RDD&D Program Manager at the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM). She previously served as the Rare Earth Element Technology Manager at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). Prior to joining NETL, Ms. Alvin was employed at the Westinghouse Electric Corporation and at Siemens Westinghouse Power Generation, working in the area of advanced energy systems. As a Fellow Scientist, she was internationally recognized for her contributions in the area of high temperature porous ceramic materials, ceramic matrix composites, intermetallics, advanced alloys and metal media for hot gas filtration use in the electric power generation industry. She holds twenty-eight patents in these areas.Abstract
Production of rare earth elements (REEs) and other critical minerals and materials (CMMs) from unconventional and secondary resources has been a primary interest of the Department of Energy since 2014. From concept to now five, first-of-a-kind, small pilot-scale facilities, we have demonstrated the technical feasibility of producing small quantities of high purity rare earth oxides and select critical materials, and are currently addressing the design, construction and operation of a 1-3 tonne/day REE demonstration-scale facility in support of the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. In this presentation, we will reflect upon the activities that have brought us to this pivotal point using conventional separations technologies to produce these materials for the Clean Energy and National Defense industries.