Recovering Rare Earth Elements from Aqueous Solution with Porous Amine–Epoxy Networks

Wilfong, Walter Christopher; Kail, Brian W.; Bank, Tracy L.; Howard, Bret H.; Gray, McMahan L.

doi:10.1021/acsami.7b03859

Recovering Rare Earth Elements from Aqueous Solution with Porous Amine–Epoxy Networks

Journal Article · Fri May 12 00:00:00 EDT 2017 · ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.7b03859· OSTI ID:1433610

^[1]; Kail, Brian W. ^[2]; Bank, Tracy L. ^[2]; Howard, Bret H. ^[3]; Gray, McMahan L. ^[3]

National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, (United States); Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
AECOM, Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
National Energy Technology Lab. (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, (United States)

Recovering aqueous rare earth elements (REEs) from domestic water sources is one key strategy to diminish the U.S.’s foreign reliance of these precious commodities. Herein, we synthesized an array of porous, amine–epoxy monolith and particle REE recovery sorbents from different polyamine, namely tetraethylenepentamine, and diepoxide (E2), triepoxide (E3), and tetra-epoxide (E4) monomer combinations via a polymer-induced phase separation (PIPS) method. The polyamines provided -NH₂ (primary amine) plus -NH (secondary amine) REE adsorption sites, which were partially reacted with C–O–C (epoxide) groups at different amine/epoxide ratios to precipitate porous materials that exhibited a wide range of apparent porosities and REE recoveries/affinities. Specifically, polymer particles (ground monoliths) were tested for their recovery of La³⁺, Nd³⁺, Eu³⁺, Dy³⁺, and Yb³⁺ (Ln³⁺) species from ppm-level, model REE solutions (pH ≈ 2.4, 5.5, and 6.4) and a ppb-level, simulated acid mine drainage (AMD) solution (pH ≈ 2.6). Screening the sorbents revealed that E3/TEPA-88 (88% theoretical reaction of -NH₂ plus -NH) recovered, overall, the highest percentage of Ln³⁺ species of all particles from model 100 ppm- and 500 ppm-concentrated REE solutions. Water swelling (monoliths) and ex situ, diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy (DRIFTS) (ground monoliths/particles) data revealed the high REE uptake by the optimized particles was facilitated by effective distribution of amine and hydroxyl groups within a porous, phase-separated polymer network. In situ DRIFTS results clarified that phase separation, in part, resulted from polymerization of the TEPA-E3 (N-N-diglycidyl-4-glycidyloxyaniline) species in the porogen via C–N bond formation, especially at higher temperatures. Most importantly, the E3/TEPA-88 material cyclically recovered >93% of ppb-level Ln³⁺ species from AMD solution in a recovery–strip–recovery scheme, highlighting the efficacy of these materials for practical applications.

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Research Organization:: National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), Pittsburgh, PA, and Morgantown, WV (United States); Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Fossil Energy (FE); AECOM, Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

Grant/Contract Number:: FE0004000

OSTI ID:: 1433610

Journal Information:: ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, Journal Name: ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces Journal Issue: 21 Vol. 9; ISSN 1944-8244

Publisher:: American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY
amine
infrared spectroscopy
lanthanide
porous polymer
rare earth element
water treatment

Recovering Rare Earth Elements from Aqueous Solution with Porous Amine–Epoxy Networks

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