Metallurgical simulation and evaluation of the resource efficiency of whole production processes are of key importance for sound environmental impact assessments. Exergy dissipation analysis is suitable to quantify the theoretical limits of a process and pinpoint hotspots for improvements along the value chain. Production of NdFeB permanent magnets is evaluated herein using a simulation-based life cycle assessment and exergetic analysis, including 107 unit operations, 361 flows, and 209 compounds. This methodology highlights areas with the greatest potential for improvements in terms of technology and environmental impact, shedding light on the true resource efficiency and minimum exergy dissipation for the production of permanent magnets, which are applied in several low-carbon technologies. The maximum exergy efficiency of 60.7% shows that there is a limit on sustainability, which could however be improved via technological improvements and recovery of waste streams, revealing the inconvenient truth that the resource efficiency will never reach 100%.

中文翻译：

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基于仿真的 NdFeB 永磁体生产的有效分析以了解大型系统

整个生产过程的资源效率的冶金模拟和评估对于健全的环境影响评估至关重要。火用耗散分析适用于量化流程的理论极限，并确定价值链中改进的热点。本文使用基于模拟的生命周期评估和火用分析来评估 NdFeB 永磁体的生产，包括 107 个单元操作、361 个流程和 209 种化合物。该方法突出了在技术和环境影响方面具有最大改进潜力的领域，揭示了永磁体生产的真正资源效率和最小火用耗散，这些技术应用于多种低碳技术。最大火用效率为 60。