25-11-2025
Miguel Nogueira, who completed his PhD in Sustainable Chemistry, was distinguished with the Waste Vision 2100 International Award from the International Waste Working Group (IWWG), with his doctoral thesis entitled Recovery of Rare Earth Elements from NdFeB Magnets by Using Porous Carbons Produced from Rubber of Spent Tyres - Tyre4REEcycle.
The thesis explored the recovery of rare earth elements, namely neodymium and dysprosium, from NdFeB magnets through adsorption mechanisms, using porous carbon materials obtained by pyrolysis of end-of-life tyres. The growing generation of used tyres and the scarcity of rare earth elements essential for technological applications pose significant environmental and economic challenges. In this context, the work converted tyre waste into porous carbon adsorbents capable of recovering rare earth elements, contributing to circular economy solutions.
The award was presented during the Sardinia Symposium 2025, held from October 13 to 17 in Cagliari, Sardinia (Italy), where Miguel Nogueira presented his research at the opening session of the event.
This research was supervised by Nuno Lapa and Inês Matos (NOVA FCT) and Filomena Pinto (LNEG), and benefited from the collaboration of João Carlos
Lima, Sandra Gago and Maria Bernardo (NOVA FCT), Luís Tarelho (University of Aveiro), the waste-tyre management company Valorpneu, S.A., the
spent-tyre recycling companies Recipneu and Biogoma, the Associated Laboratory for Green Chemistry (LAQV-REQUIMTE) and the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology.
This award highlights the international impact of the research carried out at NOVA FCT and its strong connection with the business sector.
