Study on a novel flat renewal supported liquid membrane with D2EHPA and hydrogen nitrate for neodymium extraction

The Nd(III) extraction in flat renewal supported liquid membrane(FRSLM),with polyvinylidene fluoride membrane and renewal solution including HNO3 solution as the stripping solution and di(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid(D2EHPA) dissolved in kerosene as the membrane solution,was investigated.The effects of pH in the feed phase,volume ratio of membrane solution to stripping solution,concentra-tion of HNO3 solution and concentration of carrier in the renewal phase on extraction of Nd(III) were also studied,respectively.As a result,the optimum extraction conditions of Nd(III) were obtained when concentration of HNO3 solution was 4.00 mol/L,concentration of D2EHPA was 0.100 mol/L,and volume ratio of membrane solution to stripping solution was 1.00 in the renewal phase,and pH was 4.60 in the feed phase.When initial concentration of Nd(III) was 2.00×10-4 mol/L,the extraction percentage of Nd(III) was up to 92.9% in 75 min.     

Solvent extraction and separation of light rare earth elements (La,Pr and Nd) in the presence of lactic acid as a complexing agent by Cyanex 272 in kerosene and the effect of citric acid,acetic acid and Titriplex Ⅲ as auxiliary agents

At present, the use of rare earth elements(REEs) has become an inevitable necessity in many modern industries. In general, liquid extraction is the best commercial method for extracting REEs due to its ability to control high volumes of liquids with electrical load. With the aim of improving a separation technology that would be superior to the existing extraction systems, the extraction behaviors of La(Ⅲ),Pr(Ⅲ), and Nd(Ⅲ) from an HCI medium with Cyanex 272 in the presence of the complexing agent lactic acid(HLac) and auxiliary agents citric acid(H_3 Cit), acetic acid(HAc), and Titriplex Ⅲ have been reported.The effect of pH and lactic acid concentration has been examined. The use of lactic acid as a complexing agent leading to a high extraction of REEs with Cyanex 272 at pH = 5 was compared with systems without lactic acid. The results show that the use of acetic acid along with lactic acid leads to an increase in the extraction percentage of LREEs. While use of citric acid and Titriplex Ⅲ reduces the extraction percentage of LREEs. Finally, the presence of Titriplex Ⅲ together with lactic acid could lead to an increase in the separation factor of Pr and Nd.     

Efficient extraction and stripping of Nd(Ⅲ),Eu(Ⅲ) and Er(Ⅲ) by membrane dispersion micro-extractors

The extraction of low concentration rare earth elements at high phase ratio was investigated. The traditional extraction set-up, such as mixer-settler, have drawbacks of easy emulsification, difficult separation and low efficiency if operated at the above condition. Membrane dispersion micro-extractor,owing to its well-dispersed, high surface-to-volume ratio and fast mass transfer rate, was employed in our work. Nd(Ⅲ),Eu(Ⅲ),Er(Ⅲ) were chosen to represent light, medium,heavy rare earth elements(REEs). The extraction process of REEs with 2-ethylhexyl phosphoric acid-2-ethylhexyl ester(P507) was investigated by membrane dispersion micro-extractors. Firstly, the extraction equilibrium of these three elements was explored in the stirred conical flasks, and it is indicated that the extraction efficiencies can be 0.95, 0.97 and 0.98, respectively within 40 min at phase ratio of 100:1. Then the effects of operational conditions such as the residence time, organic and aqueous flow rates on extraction efficiency were also explored in micro-extractors. The results indicate that the efficiency decreases and then increases if increasing aqueous phase flow rate, residence time and droplets' diameter are the key factors of this process. Increasing the phase ratio reduces the extraction efficiency significantly. When the REEs solution has an initial pH of 4.00, the flow rates of continuous and dispersed phase are 40 and 1.6 mL/min,respectively, and 90 mg/L Nd(Ⅲ), Eu(Ⅲ) and Er(Ⅲ) is extracted by 1 mol/L P507 at the out-let length of8 m. The extraction efficiencies are 0.978,0.983 and 0.991, respectively. Finally the stripping process was also studied with the micro-extractor. The stripping efficiencies of Nd(Ⅲ), Eu(Ⅲ) and Er(Ⅲ) can reach0.99, 0.96 and 0.91, respectively when the out-let length is 8 m and the concentration of hydrochloric acid is 1 mol/L. The developed approach offers a novel and simple strategy on the fast extraction and enrichment of low concentration rare earth elements from waste water.     

Studies on synergistic solvent extraction of rare earth elements from nitrate medium by mixtures of 8-hydroxyquinoline with Cyanex 301 or Cyanex 302

Synergistic solvent extraction of rare earth elements (REEs) from nitrate medium was investigated with mixtures of 8-hydroxyquinoline (HQ) and acidic organophosphorus extractants,bis(2,4,4-trimethylpentyl) dithiophosphinic acid (Cyanex 301) and bis(2,4,4-trimethylpentyl) monothiophosphinic acid (Cyanex 302).The extraction behavior of Cyanex 301/Cyanex 302 and their binary mixtures with HQ towards several lanthanoids (La,Nd,Sm,Tb,Ho,Tm) and yttrium (Y) was investigated.The separation ability of REEs was studied according to the various extraction effects.The extraction mechanisms for yttrium were studied with the methods of slope analysis and constant moles in the synergistic systems.The extracted compounds,the equilibrium constants,and thermodynamic functions were also determined.     

Extraction Mechanism of La^3 ＋ from Hydrochloric Acid Solution Using Cyanex 302

The solvent extraction of La3 from hydrochloric acid solutions was investigated using bis (2, 4, 4-trimethylpentyl) monothiophosphinic acid (Cyanex 302, HL) as an extractant. The effect of .equilibrium of aqueous acidity on extraction of La^3 using Cyanex 302 in different diluents was discussed. The effects of extractant concentration and chloride ion on the extraction reaction were also studied. Stoichiometry of the extraction reactions and the nature of metal complexes formed were determined using slope analysis technique and IR measurement.     

Extraction of selected rare earth elements from anthracite acid mine drainage using supercritical CO_2 via coagulation and complexation

Rare earth elements(REEs) are valuable raw materials which are in great demand in modern high technology industries.Developing methods to produce/recover REEs from waste is significant to the national security of any developed country.This study was focused on investigating the use of supercritical CO2(sCO_2) to extract REEs from anthracite acid mine drainage(AMD).Four different mine drainage water source locations at Blaschak Coal Corp.in Pennsylvania,USA were selected for sample collection.An extraction process was developed and demonstrated for two of those water sources containing the highest concentration of REEs.A method involving metal ion coagulation,their dissolution from the sludge into a concentrated aqueous HNO_3 solution,complexation with organic ligands and sCO_2 extraction was developed to recover REEs from AMD.Specifically,sodium aluminate(NaAlO_2) was used as the coagulant to concentrate REEs from the AMD into a solid precipitate.Consequently,over 99%of the REEs in AMD is concentrated in the remaining sludge.During the coagulation process,the effects of pH and NaAlO_2 concentration on REE precipitation were investigated.Fuming nitric acid(HNO_3) was used to digest the pre-concentrated sludge and tributyl phosphate(TBP) was used to form REE/TBP/HNO_3,a non-polar complex with selected REEs,specifically,cerium(Ce),lanthanum(La) and neodymium(Nd).HNO_3 concentration and organic/aqueous phase ratio were considered as the variables to improve complexation efficiency.Dynamic extraction experiments using sCO_2 and REE/TBP/HNO_3 solutions were then conducted at optimal conditions of 60℃ and 20 MPa.The overall REE extraction efficiencies are found to increase with the atomic number of the REE.As a result,the average overall REE extraction efficiencies of 41.8%,40.1% and 58.2% for Ce,La and Nd,respectively,are obtained.The potential improvements in the overall extraction efficiency are also discussed.     

Transport of yttrium metal ions through fibers supported liquid membrane solvent extraction

A novel idea of transport of yttrium(Ⅲ) metal ions through fibers supported liquid membrane in two stage processes namely source to membrane and membrane to receiving phase has been proposed.The fibers supported liquid membrane was impregnated with different concentrations carrier.The experimental variables explored were concentration of yttrium(Ⅲ) ions,pH of source phase,PC-88A concentration in membrane phase,acid concentration in receiving phase and stirring speed.The pre-concentration of yttrium(Ⅲ) ions was investigated from the dilute solutions.The two-channel fibers supported liquid membrane solvent extraction was investigated for the transport of yttrium(Ⅲ) ions from the source to membrane and membrane to receiving phase.The transport of yttrium(Ⅲ) ions was observed through the fibers supported liquid membrane with capillary action.     

Study on separation technology of Pr and Nd in D₂EHPA-HCl-LA coordination extraction system

The separation coefficient of Nd/Pr was lower in D2EHPA-HCl system. Pointing to this problem,the effect of the acidity of feed and the concentration of lactic acid on the distribution ratio,separation coefficient and extraction capacity was investigated in unsaponified D2EHPA-HCl-LA system,and the regression equations were calculated in this paper. The results showed that the distribution ratio and separation coefficient both increased with decreasing of feed acidity and increasing of the lactic acid concentration,and the extraction capacity increased with increasing of lactic acid concentration in D2EHPA-HCl-LA system. When the pH value of the feed was 3.5 and lactic acid concentration was 0.6 mol/L,the max separation coefficient was 1.57,and the extraction capacity was 27.87 g/L.     

Extraction and recovery of cerium(Ⅳ) and thorium(Ⅳ) from sulphate medium by an α-aminophosphonate extractant

In the present work, a novel α-aminophosphonate extractant(Cextrant 230) was synthesized for the extraction and recovery of cerium and thorium from sulphate medium. The introduction of amine group into the phosphate molecule would enhance the extraction of Ce(Ⅳ) and Th(Ⅳ). The effects of extractant concentration, H_2SO_4 concentration and temperature on the metal extraction were investigated in detail. It was found that the extraction of Ce(Ⅳ), Th(Ⅳ) and REs(La, Gd, Yb) in sulphate medium decreased in the following order: Ce(Ⅳ)Th(Ⅳ)REs(Ⅲ). A solvent extraction process to extract and recover cerium and thorium from bastnasite leaching was proposed, in which the purities of cerium and thorium products reached 99.9% and 99% with yield of 92% and 98%, respectively.     

Effect of diluents on the extraction of praseodymium and samarium by Cyanex 923 from acidic nitrate medium

The solvent extraction of Pr(Ⅲ) and Sm(Ⅲ) with trialkyl phosphine oxide(Cyanex 923) in chloroform,carbon tetrachloride,n-octane,cyclohexane,1,2-dichloroethane,benzene,toluene,xylene and nitrobenzene from acidic nitrate medium was investigated.On the basis of slope analysis data,the composition of the extracted species was determined as(M(NO3)3?2CY923),CY923 refers to Cyanex 923.The values of the equilibrium constants and the separation factors were calculated.The effect of the diluents on the metal extracti...     

Separation of Eu（III） with supported dispersion liquid membrane system containing D2EHPA as carrier and HNO3 solution as stripping solution

The Eu(III) separation in supported dispersion liquid membrane (SDLM),with polyvinylidene fluoride membrane (PVDF) as the support and dispersion solution containing HNO3 solution as the stripping solution and Di(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) dis-solved in kerosene as the membrane solution,was studied.The effects of pH value,initial concentration of Eu(III) and different ionic strengths in the feed phase,volume ratio of membrane solution and stripping solution,concentration of HNO3 solution,concentration of carrier,different stripping agents in the dispersion phase on the separation of Eu(III) were also investigated,respectively.As a result,the optimum separation conditions of Eu(III) were obtained as the concentration of HNO3 solution was 4.00 mol/L,concentration of D2EHPA was 0.160 mol/L,and volume ratio of membrane solution to stripping solution was 30:30 in the dispersion phase,and pH value was 5.00 in the feed phase.Ionic strength had no obvious effect on the separation of Eu(III).Under the optimum conditions studied,when initial concentration of Eu(III) was 1.00×10–4 mol/L,the separation rate of Eu(III) was up to 94.2% during the separation period of 35 min.The kinetic equation was developed in terms of the law of mass diffusion and the theory of interface chemistry.The results were in good agreement with the literature data.     

A novel method for synthesis of styryl phosphonate monoester and its application in La(Ⅲ) extraction

Herein,styryl phosphonate monoester(SPE) was synthesized and first introduced as rare earth extractant.The solvent extraction of lanthanum(Ⅲ) from nitrate solution using styryl phosphonate mono-isooctyl ester(SPE108),di-2-ethylhexyl phosphoric acid(D2 EHPA) and 2-ethylhexyl phosphonic acidmono-2-ethylhexyl ester(EHEHPA) as extractants was investigated.The effects of experimental parameters including equilibrium time,extractant concentration,aqueous pH,phase ratio and salt concentration on the extraction process were studied.The results indicate that the extraction ability and capacity of the extractants follow the order:SPE108 D2 EHPA EHEHPA.What's more,the extraction process is less affected by ammonium sulfate in the aqueous phase with SPE108.The results of the separation between lanthanum and adjacent lanthanides(Ce,Pr,Nd,Sm) show that SPE108 can separate lanthanides efficiently at low pH.The extraction mechanism of SPE108 is proved to be similar to D2 EHPA,and the density functional theory(DFT) calculation results infer that SPE108 exhibits superior extraction ability due to its strong electron-accepting ability.     

Extraction and Stripping of Ytterbium (Ⅲ) from H2SO4 Medium by Cyanex 923

The extraction and stripping of ytterbium(Ⅲ) from sulfuric acid medium using Cyanex 923 in heptane solution was investigated. The effects of extractant concentration, pH and sulfate ion as well as stripping agents, acidity and temperature on the extraction and stripping were studied. The equilibrium constants and thermodynamic parameters, such as ΔH (10.76 kJ·mol-1), ΔG (-79.26 kJ·mol-1) and ΔS (292.41 J·K-1·mol-1), were calculated. The extraction mechanism and the complex species extracted were determined by slope analysis and FTIR spectra. Furthermore, it was found that the extraction of Yb (Ⅲ) from sulfuric acid medium by Cyanex 923 increased with pH, concentration of SO42-, HSO4-, and extractant concentration, and approximately a quantitative extraction of Yb(Ⅲ) was achieved at an equilibrium pH near 3.0, and the extracted complex was YbSO4(HSO4)·2Cyanex923(o).     

Extraction mechanism of cerium（Ⅳ） in H2SO4/H3PO4 system using bifunctional ionic liquid extractants

The extraction of Ce（Ⅳ） in H2SO4/H3PO4 system was investigated systematically using bifunctional ionic liquid extractants（Bif-ILES） [A336][P507],[A336][P204] and [A336][C272] in n-heptane.The effects of H2SO4 concentration,extractant concentration and salting-out agent concentration were observed in detail.The extraction mechanism of Ce（Ⅳ） in H2SO4/H3PO4 system was obtained.The comparison with other extractants such as Cyanex923,TBP was also studied.Thermodynamic functions of the extraction reaction were calculated,showing that the extraction was an exothermic process.The separation of Ce（Ⅳ） from RE（Ⅲ） and Th（Ⅳ） was also investigated.The result indicated that Ce（Ⅳ） could be selectively extracted in this system.CePO4 nanoparticles were obtained in the process of stripping using H2O2 in H2SO4/H3PO4 system.X-ray diffraction（XRD）,scanning electron microscopy（SEM） and spectroscopy were adopted for the characterization of the sample.     

In-Situ High Temperature X-Ray Diffraction Study of Structure and Phase Transformation of Nd-FePt Alloys

The structure and disorder-order transformation of NdxFe60.5-x Pt39.5（x = 0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5） alloys were investigated in situ by high temperature X-ray diffraction. The results show that the lattice parameter a of disordered γ phase （FCC, Al structure type） and the lattice parameter ratio c/a of ordered γ1 phase （FCT, L10 structure type） increase linearly with increasing Nd concentration, whereas the c/a ratio decreases with increasing temperature. The transition temperature from ordered FCT to disordered FCC decreases with increasing Nd concentration, but for alloys quenched rapidly from γ phase region into ice-water it increases with increasing Nd.     

Characteristic of synergistic extraction of oxalic acid with system from rare earth metallurgical wastewater

Large amount of high concentration acidic wastewater would be produced in the conversion process of chloride rare earth into oxide rare earth.It was a mixed solution of oxalic acid and hydrochloric acid,so the recycling use was very difficult.The method of liquid-liquid extraction was proposed in this paper to achieve wastewater treatment and reclamation.The mechanism of extraction of oxalic acid from the wastewater with the systems of 50% TOB+45% kerosene and 5% 2-ethyl hexanol was investigated.The composition and structure of the extracted species and the establishment of the mathematical model of the oxalic acid extraction were determined by the use of saturation method,equimolar series method.The results showed that extraction of oxalic acid by TOB was a neutral association extraction,oxalic acid existed mainly in a molecular form in the organic phase,and the extraction combination ratio was 2:1.The duality extraction system composed of extractant TOB and TOC had synergistic extraction effect on oxalic acid and chlorhydric acid,and the extraction dislribution ratio was improved greatly.The optimum volume fiaction of TOB was 0.6-0.8.     

Extraction kinetics of neodymium from chloride medium using HEH/EHP saponified with magnesium bicarbonate solution

Magnesium bicarbonate solution is considered as an environmentally friendly extractant saponification agent for the solvent extraction of rare earth elements due to its advantage of minimum water pollution.In order to reveal the extraction regularity, optimize production-process and guide the use of this new extraction system, the extraction of Nd(Ⅲ) in chloride medium with HEH/EHP saponified by magnesium bicarbonate solution was investigated with the self-designed constant interfacial area cell. Besides, the effects of stirring rate, temperature, specific interfacial area and concentration of Mg-HEH/EHP on the extraction rate of Nd(Ⅲ) were systematically investigated. Results show that, the rate of extraction is governed by both diffusion and chemical reaction, and the extraction reaction takes place at the interface. The apparent activation energy of the extraction reaction is 16.88 kJ/mol. The corresponding rate equation is deduced. The mechanisms and rate-determining step are speculated based on interfacial reaction models, which is consistent with the experimental results.     

Study on transport of Dy(Ⅲ) by dispersion supported liquid membrane

The transport of Dy(Ⅲ) through a dispersion supported liquid membrane (DSLM) consisting of polyvinylidene fluoride mem-brane (PVDF) as the liquid membrane support and dispersion solution including HC1 solution as the stripping solution and 2-ethyl hexyl phosphonic aeid-mono-2-ethyl hexyl ester (PC-88A) dissolved in kerosene as the membrane solution, was studied. The effects of pH value, initial concentration of Dy(Ⅲ) and different ionic strength in the feed phase, volume ratio of membrane solution and stripping solution, con-centration of HC1 solution, concentration of carder, different stripping agents in the dispersion phase on transport of Dy(Ⅲ) were also inves-tigated, respectively. As a result, when the concentration of HCI solution was 4.0 mol/L, concentration of PC-88A was 0.10 mol/L, and vol-ume ratio of membrane solution and stripping solution was 40:20 in the dispersion phase, and pH value was 5.0 in the feed phase, the trans-port effect of Dy(Ⅲ) was the best. Ionic strength had no obvious effect on transport of Dy(Ⅲ). Under the optimum condition studied, when initial concentration of Dy(Ⅲ) was 0.8×10-4 mol/L, the transport rate of Dy(Ⅲ) was up to 96.2% during the transport time of 95 min. The kinetic equation was developed in terms of the law of mass diffusion and the theory of interface chemistry. The diffusion coefficient of Dy(Ⅲ) in the membrane and the thickness of diffusion layer between feed phase and membrane phase were obtained and the values were 1.99×10-7 m2/s and 15.97 μm, respectively. The results were in good agreement with experimental results.     

Solid-liquid extraction of Gd(Ⅲ) and separphosphoric acid solutions using Tulsion C

Solid-liquid extraction of gadolinium was investigated from phosphoric acid medium using commercial amino phosphonic acid resin, Tulsion CH-93. The experimental conditions studied included equilibration time, acid concentration, mass of the resin, metal concentra-tion, loading and elution. The percent extraction of Gd(Ⅲ) was studied as a function of phosphoric acid (0.05-3 mol/L) using Tulsion CH-93 resin. The corresponding lgD vs. equilibrium pH plot gave straight line with a slope of 1.8. The percent extraction decreased with acid con-centration increasing, conforming ion exchange mechanism. Under observed experimental conditions the loading capacity of Tulsion CH-93 for gadolinium was 10.6 mg/g. Among several eluants screened, the quantitative elution of Gd(Ⅲ) from loaded Tulsion CH-93 was obtained with ammonium oxalate (0.15 mol/L). The extraction behavior of commonly associated metals with gadolinium was studied as a function of phosphoric acid concentration. Tulsion CH-93 resin showed selective extraction towards heavy rare earths (Lu and Yb) which could be sepa-rated from other rare earths at 3 mol/L H3PO4, similar to wet phosphoric acid (3-5 mol/L). On the other hand Gd(Ⅲ) and other rare earths were studied with chelating resin Tulsion CH-90. Light rare earths were highly extracted and these could be separated from heavy rare earths and Gd.)     

Sorption of lanthanide ions on biochar composites

Sorption of lanthanum(Ⅲ), cerium(Ⅲ) and neodymium(Ⅲ) ions from the aqueous solutions of mixtures through adsorption on the biochar composites was investigated as a function of sorbent mass, pH, phase contact time and initial concentration of solutions at 295 K. The maximum removal of lanthanide ions takes place under the following conditions: 0.1 g of sorbent mass, pH 4 and 360 min contact time for all studied initial concentrations of solutions. Kinetics of La(Ⅲ), Ce(Ⅲ) and Nd(Ⅲ) ions sorption proceeded by a fast initial uptake reached equilibrium. This process was modelled by means of the pseudo first order, pseudo second order, intraparticle diffusion and Elovich models. The desorption of three lanthanide ions by nitric, hydrochloric and sulfuric acids at a concentration of 1 mol/L from biochar composites was also studied. In order to investigate the sorption mechanism FTIR, XRD and XPS analyses were performed after sorption of ions from the mixture.