Abstract
Currently, most high-technology productions are impossible without rare-earth elements (REE). The heavy rare-earth elements are of great interest as they have the highest market value and are in demand in the vast majority of knowledge-intensive industries. The main recourse of REE in Russia is apatite ore which is used in the production of fertilizers. As a result of its leaching, about 15-20% of REE goes to wet-process phosphoric acid. To enhance the depth of apatite processing, it is necessary to develop a technology which will allow obtaining rare-earth elements as by-products. The method of extraction and concentration of REE discussed in this paper was conducted by using the extractant based on di-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid (D2EHPA). The mechanism of extraction was studied, as well as the impact of the extractant concentration, phase ratio and the number of stages on the extraction process.
Highlights
Rare-earth elements (REE) are the strategically essential raw material that has found application in various branches such as catalysts and magnet productions, metallurgy, microelectronics, glass industry, and many others
Global mine production of rare-earth elements in 2019 consisted of 210.000 metric tons, while the share of Russia in the global production was only about 1.3% even though Russia has the fourthlargest reserves of REE in the world [3,4]
Apatite is the main source of rare-earth elements in Russia, they have not been previously extracted on an industrial scale because the total amount of the lanthanides in it does not exceed 1%
Summary
Rare-earth elements (REE) are the strategically essential raw material that has found application in various branches such as catalysts and magnet productions, metallurgy, microelectronics, glass industry, and many others. Apatite is the main source of rare-earth elements in Russia, they have not been previously extracted on an industrial scale because the total amount of the lanthanides in it does not exceed 1%. Apatite has been used in the production of fertilizers for several decades. The resulting solutions of phosphoric acid, which are used in the further process without rare-earth elements extraction, contain up to 0.1% of REE. The described technology offers to add a stage of rare-earth elements obtaining as by-products from these solutions before their further use. Since the described method does not change P2O5 concentration, phosphoric acid after REE extraction can be effectively used in fertilizer production. The introduction of the extraction stage will increase the depth of apatite ore processing by obtaining a valuable product without significant changes in the technological scheme. The technology requires additional space and equipment for the regeneration of the extractant so that it can be reused
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