Abstract
ABSTRACT The current work addresses the study of the recovery of rare earth elements (REE) from acid mine water by using cationic exchange resin. The acid water was obtained from a closed uranium mine in Brazil. Ion exchange experiments were carried out in batch with three different resins at 25 ± 0.5°C and pH values 1.4, 2.4 and 3.4 (natural). Data were adjusted to the Langmuir equation in order to calculate the maximum loading capacity (qmax) of the resins. The results of qmax for individual REE revealed that the resins present higher loading for La in detriment to the other REE. The Dowex 50WX8 and Lewatit MDS 200 H resins demonstrated favourable sorption profiles to REE, evidenced by values of equilibrium factor (RL) and higher values of the Langmuir constants (b). The separation factors () indicates that resins are more selective for light REE at all pH studied. The selectivity of the resins for the REE can be described as light REE > heavy REE. The pH 1.4 and 3.4 are more favourable for the recovery of REE.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
