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Extraction Chromatographic Materials for Clean Hydrometallurgical Separation of Rare-Earth Elements Using Diglycolamide Extractants

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journal contribution
posted on 2019-10-18, 19:16 authored by M. A. Momen, M. R. Healy, C. Tsouris, S. Jansone-Popova, D. W. DePaoli, B. A. Moyer
The uncertain supply of the rare-earth elements (REE) from conventional sources such as bastnaesite and monazite demands the search for alternative sources. Unconventional sources such as phosphate rock and mine tailings have REE contents at the level of only hundreds to a thousand parts per million, which challenges the conventional REE separation methods such as solvent extraction (SX) and ion exchange (IX). Alternatively, the potential of extraction chromatography (EXC) has been explored, as it combines the selectivity of SX and the convenience of column techniques of IX. Herein, we report a novel EXC material incorporating N,N′-dimethyl-N,N′-dioctyl-3-oxa-diglycolamide (DMDODGA) into a porous solid support because DMDODGA exhibits higher extraction efficiency for REE in SX than does conventional N,N,N′,N′-tetraoctyl-3-oxa-diglycolamide (TODGA) and as also compared with similarly made conventional TODGA-based EXC material. The extraction of mixed REE by DMDODGA and TODGA resins was evaluated in H2SO4, HCl, and HNO3 media as a function of acid concentration. The REE feed concentrations were adjusted to achieve stoichiometric REE concentration and excess REE concentration, conditions that reflect near or complete saturation of resin capacity. In general, extraction at the same acid concentration followed the order HNO3 > HCl > H2SO4. The extraction strength of the DMDODGA resin is significantly higher than that of the TODGA resin in all three examined mineral acids, especially at lower H2SO4 and HCl concentrations (0.01 and 0.1 M), making it a promising EXC material for hydrometallurgical extraction of REE.

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