The effect of caustic soda treatment to recover rare earth elements from secondary feedstocks with low concentrations
Abstract
Caustic soda (NaOH) treatment has enhanced rare earth element (REE) extraction from monazite. Here, this study examined the effectiveness of caustic soda for RE-phosphates with lower concentrations for extraction from coal overburden, an alternative feedstock derived from mining waste. Pourbaix (Eh-pH) diagrams were constructed for La, Ce, Nd, Eu, and Y-PO4-H2O systems to understand the thermodynamics of NaOH-facilitated acid leaching for low-concentration RE-phosphates and oxides and to elucidate the difference in recoveries among individual REEs. The Eh-pH diagrams indicated that low crystallinity is beneficial for extraction. Nd was thermodynamically most favorable for the extraction process among the five elements examined, and Y was the least promising. Experiments were conducted using three Pennsylvania coal overburden samples to validate the effect of caustic soda on rare earth leaching. The experimental results showed that for NaOH (6 M), a leaching time of 2 h at 125 °C was sufficient to obtain twice the recovery values compared to those without the NaOH treatment. After implementing the caustic soda treatment, a high total REE recovery (>60%), especially for Nd and Pr, could be achieved with diluted HCl and more environmentally friendlier citric acid. The results were similar for both coarse and fine particles. This novelmore »
- Authors:
-
- Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Inventure Renewables, Inc., Tuscaloosa, AL (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Fossil Energy (FE)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1977454
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1821049
- Grant/Contract Number:
- FE0030146; FE-0030146
- Resource Type:
- Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Name:
- Minerals Engineering
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Volume: 173; Journal ID: ISSN 0892-6875
- Publisher:
- Elsevier
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 42 ENGINEERING; Rare earth elements; Caustic soda; Coal byproducts; Eh-pH diagram; Acid leaching
Citation Formats
Yang, Xiaojing, Rozelle, Peter L., and Pisupati, Sarma V. The effect of caustic soda treatment to recover rare earth elements from secondary feedstocks with low concentrations. United States: N. p., 2021.
Web. doi:10.1016/j.mineng.2021.107184.
Yang, Xiaojing, Rozelle, Peter L., & Pisupati, Sarma V. The effect of caustic soda treatment to recover rare earth elements from secondary feedstocks with low concentrations. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mineng.2021.107184
Yang, Xiaojing, Rozelle, Peter L., and Pisupati, Sarma V. Mon .
"The effect of caustic soda treatment to recover rare earth elements from secondary feedstocks with low concentrations". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mineng.2021.107184. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1977454.
@article{osti_1977454,
title = {The effect of caustic soda treatment to recover rare earth elements from secondary feedstocks with low concentrations},
author = {Yang, Xiaojing and Rozelle, Peter L. and Pisupati, Sarma V.},
abstractNote = {Caustic soda (NaOH) treatment has enhanced rare earth element (REE) extraction from monazite. Here, this study examined the effectiveness of caustic soda for RE-phosphates with lower concentrations for extraction from coal overburden, an alternative feedstock derived from mining waste. Pourbaix (Eh-pH) diagrams were constructed for La, Ce, Nd, Eu, and Y-PO4-H2O systems to understand the thermodynamics of NaOH-facilitated acid leaching for low-concentration RE-phosphates and oxides and to elucidate the difference in recoveries among individual REEs. The Eh-pH diagrams indicated that low crystallinity is beneficial for extraction. Nd was thermodynamically most favorable for the extraction process among the five elements examined, and Y was the least promising. Experiments were conducted using three Pennsylvania coal overburden samples to validate the effect of caustic soda on rare earth leaching. The experimental results showed that for NaOH (6 M), a leaching time of 2 h at 125 °C was sufficient to obtain twice the recovery values compared to those without the NaOH treatment. After implementing the caustic soda treatment, a high total REE recovery (>60%), especially for Nd and Pr, could be achieved with diluted HCl and more environmentally friendlier citric acid. The results were similar for both coarse and fine particles. This novel approach is likely to improve the feasibility of REE extraction from coal-associated feedstock in a more environmentally benign manner.},
doi = {10.1016/j.mineng.2021.107184},
journal = {Minerals Engineering},
number = ,
volume = 173,
place = {United States},
year = {Mon Sep 20 00:00:00 EDT 2021},
month = {Mon Sep 20 00:00:00 EDT 2021}
}
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