ASSESSING CYANEX 272 and BINARY EXTRACTANTS for the SEPARATION of PRASEODYMIUM and NEODYMIUM in EXTRACTION of ESKİŞEHİR – BEYLİKOVA RARE EARTH ORES
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Date
2024-04-26
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Türkiye Enerji, Nükleer ve Maden Araştırma Kurumu (TENMAK)
Abstract
Rare earth elements (REEs) are essential in various industrial applications due to their high magnetic susceptibility, low density, and thermal stability. Praseodymium is used in producing yellow pigments for glass and ceramics, while Neodymium is crucial in producing powerful permanent magnets and laser applications. Technological advancements have driven the demand for Pr and Nd and increased the need for a reliable supply chain. The primary sources of Pr and Nd are minerals like monazite, bastnasite, and xenotime, which require complex separation processes due to their mixed contents. The main secondary sources include electronic waste, particularly from permanent magnets.
The difficulty in the extraction of REEs lies in their closely related chemical and physical properties. Solvent extraction (SX), based on differences in ionic radii, is a widely used method for REE separation in industrial applications. Nevertheless, the similarity in Pr and Nd ionic radius complicates their separation compared to other REEs. This research examined the effectiveness of Cyanex 272 in the SX process for separating Pr and Nd, as well as its potential for improvement through the use of binary extractant combinations viz. Cyanex 572, Cyanex 801, Cyanex 923, as well as DEHPA.
The synthetically prepared aqueous solution was composed of 400 ppm Pr and 800 ppm Nd. The extraction efficiency and selectivity were determined by using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES).
The findings revealed that the loading efficiencies for Pr and Nd varied with the concentration of Cyanex 272, namely Pr loading efficiencies ranging from 5.5% to 24.4%, and Nd from 6.7% to 31.3%. Notably, binary extractant experiments indicated that mixtures incorporating Cyanex 272 with DEHPA, Cyanex 572, and Cyanex 801 exhibited enhanced extraction efficiencies compared with the sole Cyanex 272. On the other hand, the combination of Cyanex 272 and Cyanex 923 resulted in a diminished extraction efficiency. These obtained outcomes could potentially adapt to the development of domestic technology for the extraction of REEs from the Eskişehir Beylikova REE Ores.
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Keywords
Rare Earth Elements, Solvent Extraction, Selective Separation