Concentration of rare earth minerals from coal by froth flotation
- University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY (United States); University of Kentucky
- University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY (United States)
Rare earth elements (REEs) found in coal are in the form of minerals, ion-adsorbed onto clay surfaces or inner layers, or organically bound. Rare earth minerals such as monazite exist in coal and have grain sizes smaller than 5 µm. In this study, froth flotation was successful in concentrating rare earth minerals existing in a thickener underflow material derived from Fire Clay seam coal that contained around 431 ppm of total rare earth elements (TREE) on a dry ash basis. Furthermore, conditioning with fatty acid followed by processing using multiple stages of conventional flotation produced a final concentrate containing 2,300 ppm TREE. Using a laboratory flotation column to limit hydraulic entrainment, the TREE content was further enriched to around 4,700 ppm, which equated to an enrichment ratio of 10:1.
- Research Organization:
- University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Fossil Energy (FE), Clean Coal and Carbon Management
- Grant/Contract Number:
- FE0027035
- OSTI ID:
- 1984663
- Journal Information:
- Minerals and Metallurgical Processing, Journal Name: Minerals and Metallurgical Processing Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 34; ISSN 0747-9182
- Publisher:
- Society for Mining, Metallurgy & ExplorationCopyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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