Spectrochemical Detection and Monitoring of Rare Earth Elements during Extraction from Coal / Coal Byproducts
- Physical Sciences Inc., Andover, MA (United States)
Rare earth elements (REE) are a valuable commodity for a wide range of industries, including catalysts, metallurgy, ceramics/glasses, phosphors, magnets, and electronics. Separation and concentration of REE from coal and coal byproducts (mining refuse, power plant ash, acid mine drainage) is a process technology that is growing in response to high REE demand and minimal domestic supplies. To achieve industrial scale production with high efficiency, analytical chemistry tools that provide rapid and accurate measurement/feedback on elemental concentrations at various process stages are needed for process optimization and control. A near-real-time, accurate process-monitoring REE measurement with minimal to no sample preparation, that can be obtained by trained users at the process site, is essential for the development and commercialization of REE recovery processes. Physical Sciences Inc. (PSI) has been active over the past decade in developing sensors based on laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), an atomic emission spectroscopy (AES) technique based on a plasma (spark) generated on a sample by a focused laser pulse. In the DOE Phase I project detailed in this report, PSI applied the LIBS technology to analyze REE content of samples from various stages of physical/chemical processes being developed by PSI for REE recovery. PSI showed the feasibility of the technology for broad sample material interrogation and sub-ppm level REE elemental concentration measurement. The proof of principle of the approach was demonstrated on a laboratory instrument platform which led to the culmination of a design of a future sensor platform, referred to as the Real-time On-line Metals Analyzer (ROMA). Optimized for the measurement of REEs, the ROMA-REE will comprise low-cost commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components and demonstrate significant miniaturization, portability, signal processing speed, ease of use including sample preparation, and most significantly, affordability. In Phase I, the benchtop LIBS sensor demonstrated quantitative, accurate measurements on actual recovery process samples from important steps of our own process technology to recover REEs from coal ash. We established the ability to monitor multiple REEs over a range of concentrations and sample characteristics. We developed signal acquisition and data processing strategies and a feasible concept for an affordable and portable pre-commercial instrument.
- Research Organization:
- Physical Sciences Inc., Andover, MA (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- SC0017762
- OSTI ID:
- 1440501
- Type / Phase:
- SBIR (Phase I)
- Report Number(s):
- DOE-PSI-17762; PSI-6955
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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