Large Amounts Of Iron Research Articles

ANALYZING THE QUALITY OF GROUND WATER IN KADUNA SOUTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, KADUNA STATE, NIGERIA

The study examines the groundwater quality of Kaduna south Local government area. The physio-chemical analysis of PH, sulphate, Phosphate, chloride, Iron, Electrical conductivity, Turbidity, Nitrates, Total suspended solid and Total hardness were carried out, the result obtained were compared with World Health Organization (WHO) recommended standards for drinking water. pH, sulphate, electrical conductivity, chloride, nitrate, total suspended solids, and total hardness in all location were within the acceptable standards of WHO. The collected data from the laboratory analysis were analyzed using simple tables, graphs and charts and the result reveals that turbidity and iron in all location were above the acceptable standards of WHO. Turbidity which is above the WHO with a significant value at all the eight sampling points with 25.3,22.6,28.7,11.6,9.05,9.05,10.4,14.3 NTU respectively, Iron concentration in all the sampling points is high with 35.0, 30.0,26.0 15.0,12.0,10.0, 15.0,11.0 mg/l respectively. Large amounts of Iron in drinking water can give it an unpleasant metallic taste. Iron is an essential element in human nutrition, and the health effects of iron in drinking water may include warding off, fatigue and anaemia (metaglobinaemia).Groundwater exploitation especially boreholes should be regulated by government in order to reduce the negative effect of water pollution to humans. This research reveals there is great need to analyze any ground water before drinking

Iron Released after Cryo-Thermal Therapy Induced M1 Macrophage Polarization, Promoting the Differentiation of CD4+ T Cells into CTLs.

Macrophages play critical roles in both innate and adaptive immunity and are known for their high plasticity in response to various external signals. Macrophages are involved in regulating systematic iron homeostasis and they sequester iron by phagocytotic activity, which triggers M1 macrophage polarization and typically exerts antitumor effects. We previously developed a novel cryo-thermal therapy that can induce the mass release of tumor antigens and damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), promoting M1 macrophage polarization. However, that study did not examine whether iron released after cryo-thermal therapy induced M1 macrophage polarization; this question still needed to be addressed. We hypothesized that cryo-thermal therapy would cause the release of a large quantity of iron to augment M1 macrophage polarization due to the disruption of tumor cells and blood vessels, which would further enhance antitumor immunity. In this study, we investigated iron released in primary tumors, the level of iron in splenic macrophages after cryo-thermal therapy and the effect of iron on macrophage polarization and CD4+ T cell differentiation in metastatic 4T1 murine mammary carcinoma. We found that a large amount of iron was released after cryo-thermal therapy and could be taken up by splenic macrophages, which further promoted M1 macrophage polarization by inhibiting ERK phosphorylation. Moreover, iron promoted DC maturation, which was possibly mediated by iron-induced M1 macrophages. In addition, iron-induced M1 macrophages and mature DCs promoted the differentiation of CD4+ T cells into the CD4 cytolytic T lymphocytes (CTL) subset and inhibited differentiation into Th2 and Th17 cells. This study explains the role of iron in cryo-thermal therapy-induced antitumor immunity from a new perspective.

An Innovative Method of Converting Ferrous Mill Scale Wastes into Superparamagnetic Nanoadsorbents for Water Decontamination.

The need to recycle and develop nanomaterials from waste, and use them in environmental applications has become increasingly imperative in recent decades. A new method to convert the mill scale, a waste of the steel industry that contains large quantity of iron and low impurities into a nanoadsorbent that has the necessary properties to be used for water purification is presented. The mill scale waste was used as raw material for iron oxide nanopowder. A thorough characterization was performed in each stage of the conversion process from the mill scale powder to magnetic nanopowder including XRD (X-ray diffraction), SEM (scanning electron microscopy), TEM (transmission electron microscopy), BET (Brunauer, Emmett and Teller) and magnetization properties. Iron oxide nanoparticles were approximately 5–6 nm with high specific surface area and good magnetic properties. These are the necessary properties that a magnetic nanopowder must have in order to be used as nanoadsorbents in the heavy metal removal from waters. The iron oxide nanoparticles were evaluated as adsorbents for the removal of Cu, Cd and Ni ions.

Вміст важких металів у цьоголіток рибних господарств Дніпропетровської області

Вміст важких металів у цьоголіток рибних господарств Дніпропетровської області

Co-production of hydrogen and syngas from chemical looping water splitting coupled with decomposition of glycerol using Fe-Ce-Ni based oxygen carriers

In this study, chemical looping water splitting (CLWS) coupled with glycerol decomposition to simultaneously produce hydrogen and syngas was proposed using the iron-cerium-nickel (Fe-Ce-Ni) based oxygen carriers (OCs). The OCs containing large amounts of iron were synthesized by the metal chelating sol–gel method and characterized by BET, XRD and TEM. During the fuel stage, the OCs of oxidation state were first reduced by the glycerol and reactive gases from catalytic decomposition of glycerol producing syngas. Afterward in the subsequent steam stage, the previously reduced OCs were re-oxidized by the steam to generate pure hydrogen, which was also named the steam iron process (SIP). The prepared Fe-Ce-Ni based OCs demonstrated the remarkable redox behavior, and exerted an important catalytic function of the partial oxidation and decomposition of glycerol at 750 ℃. The OCs with 100:10:3 of Fe-Ce-Ni molar ratio presented the best capability of oxygen transfer and the highest yields of hydrogen and syngas, reaching the water splitting hydrogen production of 11.79 mmol/g per cycle on average and guaranteeing the high conversion of glycerol and selectivity of syngas. This could be ascribed to the preferable dispersion of Ce and Ni nanoparticle on the OCs. The results also proved the effectiveness of Ce and Ni doping Fe based OCs by the improved metal chelating sol–gel method to develop the catalysts with high activity and stability for co-production of hydrogen and syngas from CLWS coupled with glycerol decomposition.

Long-term phlebotomy successfully alleviated hepatic iron accumulation in a ferroportin disease patient with a mutation in SLC40A1: a case report

BackgroundHereditary hemochromatosis is a heterogenous group of inherited iron-overload conditions that is characterized by increased intestinal absorption and deposition in vital organs. Hepcidin is a soluble regulator that acts to attenuate both intestinal iron absorption and iron release from reticuloendothelial macrophages through internalization of ferroportin-1, an iron exporter. Ferroportin disease is hereditary hemochromatosis which is affected by SLC40A1, a gene coding ferroportin-1, and phenotypically classified into two forms (classical and nonclassical). In nonclassical form, ferroportin mutations are responsible for a gain of function with full iron export capability but insensitivity to downregulation by hepcidin. Here, we report a case of nonclassical ferroportin disease.Case presentationA 46-year-old Japanese man showed elevated serum iron (284 μg/dl), ferritin (1722 ng/ml), transferrin saturation ratio (91.3%), and hepcidin-25 level (139.6 ng/ml). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated a marked reduction in the signal intensity of the liver in T1- and T2-weighted images. The liver histology exhibited a large amount of iron that had accumulated predominantly in hepatocytes. We identified a heterozygous 1520A > G (p.H507R) mutation in the SLC40A1 gene. Phlebotomy (400 ml at a time) was monthly performed for 3 years in this patient. Importantly, the serum hepcidin level (1.0 ng/ml) was normal when the serum ferritin level was normal and hepatic iron accumulation was remarkably reduced after 3 years of phlebotomy.ConclusionsThe present case demonstrated for the first time that there was a correlation between hepatic iron levels as measured by MRI and serum hepcidin levels through long-term phlebotomy in a patient with ferroportin disease with the p.H507R mutation of in SLC40A1.

Petrographic and isotopic studies in Kamoo area, northeast isfahan, Iran

The study area is located 5.5 km north-east of Kamo County and 30 km north-east of Meymeh, Isfahan. Kamo Index comprises an anticline with a northwest-southeast trend, the outcrop of which consists of siltstone-sandstone and Jurassic shale rocks that lie along a cretaceous unit. Based on field studies as well as petrographic and geochemical investigations, mineral assemblages and minerals in the area include chalcopyrite, pyrite, marcasite, and magnetite as primary ores and malachite, bornite, covellite, chalcocite, hematite, goethite, and hydrous iron oxides as secondary ores. The secondary ores have been formed by oxidation and biogenic processes. The primary textures are granular, disseminated, vein-shaped, and layered and the secondary textures are boxed and martitized, shear zones, replacements, and veins. Tectonic, metamorphic, and oxidation factors are involved in the formation of these textures. Due to tectonic activity in this area and the presence of faults, replacement, vein, and shear textures, which have developed after mineralization, are observed. Among alterations, hematite, propylitic, sericitic, limonitic, and kaolinitic are highly prevalent and they are important in the formation of iron deposits. The sub-alkaline granitoids of the region are related to the continental subduction-zone orogenic series. Studies on the decomposed iron samples from Kamo show that most of the samples are in the sub-alkaline series and the chemical and mineralogical composition of the magma derived from this series is calc-alkaline with a large amount of iron. According to mineralogical, lithological, and geochemical evidence and based on isotopic results, Kamo deposit is a skarn-type deposit.

THE X-RAY DIFFRACTION ANALYSIS OF COMPLEX CATALYTIC SYSTEM OF TYPE xFePO4•yNi3(PO4)2

In this work, using the XRD analysis, the phase composition of several experimental series of synthesized catalysts implemented in the complex xFePO4•yNi3(PO4)2 system was first investigated. Catalysts К-1 ‒ К-3 (where К-1 corresponded to a starting composition of 99,5 wt. % FePO4 ‒ 0,5 wt. % Ni3(PO4)2; К-2: 99,0 wt. % FePO4 ‒ 1,0 wt. % Ni3(PO4)2 and К-3: 75,0 wt. % FePO4 ‒ 25,0 wt. % Ni3(PO4)2) are characterized by absence of reflexes which could correspond to initial hydrate FePO4•2H2O or its anhydrous analogue. Despite the fact that it is the composition of these samples that includes the maximum amount of the starting iron (III) orthophosphate. All air-dry catalysts were amorphous. Diffractograms of the four following catalysts К-4 ‒ К-7 (where К-4 corresponds to a starting composition of 50.0 50,0 wt. % FePO4 ‒ 50,0 wt. % Ni3(PO4)2; К-5: 25,0 wt. % FePO4 ‒ 75,0 wt. % Ni3(PO4)2; К-6: 1,0 wt. % FePO4 ‒ 99,0 wt. % Ni3(PO4)2; К-7: 0,5 wt. % FePO4 ‒ 99,5 wt. % Ni3(PO4)2) have significant similarities. Some of the observed reflexes can be attributed to the individual octahydrate of nickel (II) orthophosphate. Almost all the catalysts obtained, after frying under 600ºС, become X-ray amorphous. The only exception is the sample К-1, for which some initial crystallization steps are observed. However, it is impossible to uniquely identify them and attribute them to a single phase. The frying of the test catalyst series at 700ºС temperature results in certain changes. Thus, samples of К-6 and К-7 acquired signs of partial crystallization. The maximum intensity reflex at 2Θ~30º can be attributed to nickel (II) pyrophosphate, which is formed from dehydrated Ni3(PO4)2•8H2O. At the same time, the catalysts К-4 and К-5 remained X-ray amorphous. Probably, the increase in the content of iron (II) orthophosphate slows down the process of forming crystals of the composition Ni2P2O7. Samples of К-2 and К-3 already show signs of partial crystallization. Obviously, the structure of anhydrous FePO4 begins to form. Although for the catalyst К-1, which has the largest amount of iron (III) orthophosphate, there are no obvious signs of the beginning of crystallization.

Geochemical signatures of lignite mining products in sediments downstream a fluvial-lacustrine system

As a result of the open-cast lignite mining in the Lusatian region of north-eastern Germany, large amounts of iron, sulphate, trace metals, and aluminium are fed into the groundwater and small streams that discharge into the River Spree, which ultimately flows through urban Berlin. In this study, we examined whether the input of these mining products leads to longitudinal gradients in element compositions and mineral formations in the riverine sediments. The signatures of fluvial and interconnected lacustrine sediments along a 190-km flow section were evaluated via principal component analysis to define the impact range of the open-cast products. These products clearly showed a sediment impact range of at least ~90 km downstream of the mining area. In particular, nickel and cobalt readily co-precipitate with iron, while sedimentary sulphur initially increases and therefore shows a longer impact range than amorphous iron oxy-hydroxides. These findings further demonstrate that sulphur and iron have different transport mechanisms. Although sulphate concentrations in the river waters of Berlin are still high, sedimentary iron and sulphur contents at the city border are only slightly higher than at the reference point close to the source of River Spree. The strongly diminished but still present mining signature in urban Berlin is replaced by an urban signature characterised by high levels of zinc, chromium, lead, and copper.

Iron Isotopes Constrain the Metal Sources of Skarn Deposits: A Case Study from the Han-Xing Fe Deposit, China

Magmatic fluids and leaching of rocks are regarded as the two sources of magmatic hydrothermal deposits, but their relative contributions to the metals in the deposits are still unclear. In this study, we combine major elements and Fe isotopes in two sets of rocks from the Han-Xing iron skarn deposit in China to constrain the iron sources. The positive correlation between the δ56Fe and ∑Fe2O3/TiO2 of altered diorites (∑Fe2O3 refers to the total iron) demonstrates that heavy Fe isotopes are preferentially leached from diorites during hydrothermal alteration. However, except for the pyrite, all the rocks and minerals formed in the skarn deposit are enriched in the light Fe isotope relative to the fresh/less altered diorites. Therefore, besides the leaching of rocks, the Fe isotopically light magmatic fluid also provides a large quantity of iron for this deposit. Based on the mass balance calculation, we conclude that iron from magmatic fluid is almost 2.6 times as large as that from the leaching of rocks. This is the first study to estimate the relative proportions of iron sources for Fe deposits by using Fe isotopes. Here, we propose that the high δ56Fe of magmatic intrusions combining the positive correlation between their ∑Fe2O3/TiO2 and δ56Fe could be taken as a fingerprint of exsolution or interaction with magmatic fluids, which contributes to the exploration of magmatic hydrothermal ore deposits.

Biochemistry of mammalian ferritins in the regulation of cellular iron homeostasis and oxidative responses.

Ferritin, an iron-storage protein, regulates cellular iron metabolism and oxidative stress. The ferritin structure is characterized as a spherical cage, inside which large amounts of iron are deposited in a safe, compact and bioavailable form. All ferritins readily catalyze Fe(II) oxidation by peroxides at the ferroxidase center to prevent free Fe(II) from participating in oxygen free radical formation via Fenton chemistry. Thus, ferritin is generally recognized as a cytoprotective stratagem against intracellular oxidative damage The expression of cytosolic ferritins is usually regulated by iron status and oxidative stress at both the transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels. The mechanism of ferritin-mediated iron recycling is far from clarified, though nuclear receptor co-activator 4 (NCOA4) was recently identified as a cargo receptor for ferritin-based lysosomal degradation. Cytosolic ferritins are heteropolymers assembled by H- and L-chains in different proportions. The mitochondrial ferritins are homopolymers and distributed in restricted tissues. They play protective roles in mitochondria where heme- and Fe/S-enzymes are synthesized and high levels of ROS are produced. Genetic ferritin disorders are mainly related to the L-chain mutations, which generally cause severe movement diseases. This review is focused on the biochemistry and function of mammalian intracellular ferritin as the major iron-storage and anti-oxidation protein.

Green earth pigments dispersions: Water dynamics at the interfaces

HypothesisThe objective is to elucidate the multiscale dynamics of water within natural mixtures of minerals, green earth pigments that are mainly composed of phyllosilicates containing large amount of iron. In particular, the interaction of water with the different kinds of surfaces has to be probed. One issue is to examine the influence of surface type, basal or edge, on the dispersion quality. ExperimentThe study was carried out using 1H variable field NMR relaxometry on various green earth pigment dispersions and concentrations. To analyse the data, a new analytical model was developed for natural phyllosilicates containing large amount of paramagnetic centres. FindingThe proposed theoretical framework is able to fit the experimental data for various samples using few parameters. It allows to determining water diffusion and residence times in complex phyllosilicate dispersions. Furthermore, it makes it possible to differentiate the contribution of the basal and edge surfaces and their respective surface area in interaction with water. Moreover, NMR relaxation profile reveals to be highly sensitive to the structural aspect of the phyllosilicates and to the accessibility of water to iron, hence allowing to discriminate clearly between two very similar phyllosilicates (glauconite and celadonite) that are difficult to distinguish by standard structural methods.

Reduction Smelting of Iron-Manganese-Ree Ores of the Tomtor Deposit

The chemical and phase composition of iron-manganese rare-earth ores of the Tomtor deposit were investigated. It is shown that the ores contain a large amount of iron, manganese and rare earth metals. The thermodynamic calculation of reduction smelting was carried out. The reduction smelting of the ores at 1650 °C was investigated. The phase and chemical composition of the obtained slag and the alloy were studied. It is showed that obtained alloy is ferromanganese with a high content of carbon and phosphorus, and obtained slag has high content of REM.

Experimental and Mechanism Analysis of Chlorination and Reduction of Copper Slag

Waste copper slag contains large amounts of iron. Carbothermic reduction of the copper slag to recover iron inevitably results in the co-production of copper, which causes brittleness and poses a significant cost to remove. In this work, the method of medium-temperature (MT) chlorination by sodium chloride and high-temperature (HT) reduction by carbon is used to remove copper selectively before the recovery of iron. The composition of raw materials and the products were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), and chemical analysis. It was found that excessive carbon and high temperature were unfavorable to the removal of copper from the copper slag. Cu2S and Cu can be chlorinated by sodium chloride and evaporates in the form of CuCl gas. Meanwhile, chlorination mechanism of copper slag was discussed.

Formation and Mechanism of Magnesium Titanate in the Process of Ilmenite Reduction

ABSTRACT In this study, magnesium titanate was prepared through the high-temperature reaction of ilmenite and MgO in a reducing atmosphere, and its formation process and mechanism under different conditions were investigated. The results showed that a reducing atmosphere is necessary to prepare magnesium titanate. Although Mg could replace Fe and form magnesium titanate without reductant, the generated magnesium titanate contained large amounts of iron. While a reducing atmosphere promoted the formation of magnesium titanate and accelerated the reaction rate, this is because iron oxide in the reaction system is reduced to metal Fe under a reducing atmosphere. The effect of iron reduction improved, the content of iron in the magnesium titanate decreased with increasing temperature, and pure particles of magnesium titanate were generated at 1450°C. Magnesium titanate was transformed along MgTi2O5→MgTiO3→Mg2TiO4 path with increasing MgO dosage. The magnesium titanate product, contains above 90% Mg2TiO4, was obtained by grinding and magnetic separation as non-magnetic product.

Recovery of calcium and magnesium bearing phases from iron– and steelmaking slag for CO2 sequestration

Large amounts of iron– and steelmaking slag and greenhouse gas are annually produced by the steel industry worldwide. Using Ca/Mg in the slag to capture and store the CO2 via mineral carbonation is a promising approach to the reduction of waste emissions. Since iron– and steelmaking slags are a mixture of numerous types of minerals, understanding the dissolution behavior of various phases in solution system is of critical importance for Ca/Mg recovery. In this work, seven Ca/Mg–bearing phases and four typical solutions were prepared and studied. Theoretical results indicated that the order of mineral solubility in aqueous solution is as follows: (CaO and Ca2SiO4) > (Ca3MgSi2O8, Ca2MgSi2O7, and MgO) > Ca2Al2SiO7 > MgCr2O4. A batch of leaching tests was conducted at room temperature, and the recovery yield of Ca/Mg was investigated. It was found that minerals show different dissolution behavior in various systems, and the metallic oxide phases exhibited a relatively higher solubility than silicate phases. The solubility of minerals in various systems was illustrated by radar plots. Moreover, leaching tests for silicate briquettes were performed to investigate the transformation mechanism. On the basis of the results, it was proposed that a silicic acid layer generated on the surface of briquettes in the leaching process, and could transform into porous silica phase via dehydration process. The formed Si–rich layer obstructed the dissolution of inner mineral leading to a low recovery efficiency of Ca/Mg.

Separation and recovery of iron and scandium from acid leaching solution of red mud using D201 resin

Red mud is a byproduct of alumina refining of bauxite ores, and is a significant source for extracting scandium. However, a large amount of iron in red mud makes it difficult to recover scandium because Fe(III) and Sc(III) have similar physicochemical properties. In this study, a new method was developed for selective separation of iron and scandium in acid leachate of red mud using D201 resin. Theoretical calculations indicate that the ferric species mainly exists as FeCl3 or FeCl4− at chloride concentration above 6.65 mol/L, while scandium still exists as ScCl2+, making it possible to selectively separate iron from scandium through anion resin adsorption. The factors affecting the adsorption of iron and scandium such as chloride concentration, resin dosage, adsorption time, and temperature were evaluated in batch experiments. The Langmuir model was successfully applied to both iron and scandium adsorption, and the maximum adsorption capacities of iron and scandium are 147.06 and 0.95 mg/g, respectively, indicating a significant difference between iron and scandium. Raman analysis further demonstrates that the iron is adsorbed onto D201 resin as FeCl4− anion.

Recovery of iron from hazardous tailings using fluidized roasting coupling technology

Iron ore tailings have proved to be one of the most hazardous solid wastes. This paper presents an innovative technological method for recycling iron from tailings that involves coupling the magnetic separation preconcentration with fluidized roasting followed by low-intensity magnetic separation. After analyzing the separation index and chemical composition, on the basis of the basic theory, the influences of different conditions on iron recovery were determined. Moreover, a high-quality iron concentrate assaying 65.91% Fe with a recovery rate of 94.60% was obtained under the following optimum parameters: gas flow rate of 500 mL/min, CO concentration of 25%, roasting time of 2.5 min, roasting temperature of 600 °C, grinding fineness of approximately 90 wt% passing 23 μm, and magnetic intensity of 104 kA/m. In addition, XRD analyses and iron chemical phase, optical metallographic microscope and magnetic property measurements revealed that hematite was converted to magnetite successfully after roasting. Using this method, a large amount of iron can be recycled, and this hazardous solid waste can be transformed into a valuable resource. At the same time, this research promotes and provides a research basis for integrated utilization of such solid wastes.

Ferroportin in Erythrocytes: Importance for Iron Homeostasis and its Role in Infection

Ferroportin (FPN), the only known vertebrate iron exporter, transports iron from intestinal, splenic, and hepatic cells into the blood to provide iron to other tissues and cells in vivo. Most of the circulating iron is consumed by erythroid cells to synthesize hemoglobin. Recently, we found that erythroid cells not only consume large amounts of iron, but also return significant amounts of iron to the blood. Erythroblast-specific Fpn knockout (Fpn KO) mice developed lower serum iron levels in conjunction with tissue iron overload and increased FPN expression in spleen and liver without changing hepcidin levels. Our results also showed that Fpn KO mice, which suffer from mild hemolytic anemia, were sensitive to phenylhydrazine-induced oxidative stress but were able to tolerate iron deficiency upon exposure to a low-iron diet and phlebotomy, supporting that the anemia of Fpn KO mice resulted from erythrocytic iron overload and resulting oxidative injury rather than a red blood cell (RBC) production defect. Moreover, we found that the mean corpuscular volume (MCV) values of gain-of-function FPN mutation patients were positively associated with serum transferrin saturations, whereas MCVs of loss-of-function FPN mutation patients were not, supporting that erythroblasts donate iron to blood through FPN in response to serum iron levels. Our results indicate that FPN of erythroid cells has an unexpectedly essential role in maintaining systemic iron homeostasis and protecting RBCs from oxidative stress, providing insight into the pathophysiology of FPN diseases. When malaria parasites invade red blood cells (RBCs), they consume copious amounts of hemoglobin, and severely disrupt iron regulation in humans. Anemia often accompanies malaria disease; however, iron supplementation therapy inexplicably exacerbates malarial infections. We recently found that the iron exporter ferroportin (FPN) was highly abundant in RBCs, and iron supplementation suppressed its activity. Conditional deletion of the Fpn gene in erythroid cells resulted in accumulation of excess intracellular iron, cellular damage, hemolysis, and increased fatality in malaria-infected mice. In humans, a prevalent FPN mutation,Q248H (glutamine to histidine at position 248), prevented hepcidin-induced degradation of FPN and protected against severe malaria disease. FPNQ248H appears to have been positively selected in African populations in response to the impact of malaria disease. Thus, FPN protects RBCs against oxidative stress and malaria infection. Zhang DL, Wu J, Shah BN et al. Erythrocytic ferroportin reduces intracellular iron accumulation, hemolysis, and malaria risk. Science. 2018;359 (6383):1520-1523. Zhang DL, Ghosh MC, Ollivierre H, Li Y, Rouault TA. Ferroportin deficiency in erythroid cells causes serum iron deficiency and promotes hemolysis due to oxidative stress. Blood. 2018;132 (19):2078-2087. Zhang DL, Rouault TA. How does hepcidin hinder ferroportin activity. Blood. 2018;131 (8):840-842. Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Studies on Beneficiation and Leaching Characteristics of Rare Earth Elements in Indian Red Mud

Bauxite residue (red mud) is a process reject composed of undissolved bauxite phases during digestion in the Bayer process. Rare earth elements present in the bauxite residue could be a potential resource for the extraction of REEs (Sc, La, Ce). It is difficult to recover REEs directly from red mud due to its low concentration and the presence of major minerals. Large amounts of iron in leach solution create problems for further recovery processes, as iron and scandium have some common chemical characteristics. It is, therefore, advisable to remove iron from the mud as much as possible through physical beneficiation. In the present study, physical beneficiation using hydrocyclone, characterization and acid leaching has been exploited. The beneficiation process enhanced the REEs from 200 to 240 mg/kg at a yield of 43%, with a subsequent reduction in the iron oxide content from 37.5 to 29.2%. Further, leaching efficiencies of REEs and impurity (Fe) co-extraction were studied before and after physical beneficiation. It is evident from the data obtained that upgrading minimizes iron co-extraction, which improves the leaching efficiency of REEs.