Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Final Technical Report - Rare Earth Extraction and Concentration at Pilot-Scale from North Dakota Coal-Related Feedstocks

Technical Report ·
DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/2563526· OSTI ID:2563526
 [1];  [1];  [1];  [2];  [2];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [5];  [4]
  1. Univ. of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND (United States)
  2. Microbeam Technologies, Inc., Grand Forks, ND (United States)
  3. Rare Earth Salts LLC., Beatrice, NE (United States)
  4. Barr Engineering Company, Minneapolis, MN (United States)
  5. Barr Engineering Co.

The objectives of this project were to design, construct, commission, and operate a pilot-scale system utilizing UND's REE extraction technology from lignite, and complete saleability and economic evaluations of products. The process includes a dilute-acid extraction process from low-rank-coals, followed by selective precipitations and further processing to produce mixed rare earth oxide materials. The pilot was successfully constructed to a 1,000 lb/hr nameplate capacity and tested with over 100 tons of >300-ppm lignite-based feedstocks and produced saleable-quality products during operation. The team successfully attained a TRL status of 6 with the completion and testing of the pilot system, and the technology is poised for demonstration at a commercial scale.

Research Organization:
Univ. of North Dakota, Grand Forks, ND (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management (FECM), Office of Resource Sustainability
DOE Contract Number:
FE0031835
OSTI ID:
2563526
Report Number(s):
DOE-UND--31835-01
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English