High Gradient Magnetic Separation of Pure Gd2O3 Particles from Pure La2O3 Particles

Abstract

Rare earth oxides such as La2O3 and Gd2O3 are abundant in waste optical glass. The separation of rare earth oxides is beneficial to the recycling of rare earth resources. In this study, the rare earth oxide Gd2O3 particles were separated from La2O3 particles using high gradient magnetic separation, and the influence of different fluid media (i.e., water, anhydrous ethanol, and their mixture) on the separation results was investigated. By using the measured zeta potential of oxide particles in water/ethanol of different pH and water with different dispersants (Na2SiO3 9H2O, citric acid, Na2CO3, and sodium hexametaphosphate), the DLVO (Derjaguin–Landau–Verwey–Overbeek) potential calculations and their analysis applied to high gradient magnetic separation results were also performed. The results showed that using anhydrous ethanol or adding a dispersant in water as a fluid medium can promote the separation of magnetic Gd2O3 particles under a high-gradient magnetic field. Among the different conditions, anhydrous ethanol can improve the grade of Gd2O3 to 95% from 70% with water. Furthermore, ethanol can be reused after filtration, making it an environmentally friendly fluid medium. Among the four dispersants, sodium hexametaphosphate, Na2SiO3, and Na2CO3 can also increase the separation rate of La2O3 and Gd2O3 to about 95%. The effect of citric acid on the separation performance is slightly worse, and the recovery rate of Gd2O3 is 80%. This study provides a new reference for selecting a fluid medium for magnetic separation.