Separation and recovery of neodymium and praseodymium from permanent magnet scrap through the hydrometallurgical route

The leaching of neodymium (Nd) and praseodymium from scrap permanent magnet bearing 64.37% Fe, 30.57% Nd and 0.42% Pr and 0.71% B was carried out using HCl solution. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses study ensured the elements of the above metals as Nd-Fe-B in the solid phase . The leaching parameters – HCl concentration, time, temperature, particle size, pulp density (S/L) – were investigated to obtain the suitable leaching condition for the effective dissolution of both Nd and Pr. At the conditions of 0.2 M HCl, temperature 90°C, leaching time 240 min, particle size 76–105 µm, agitation speed 800 rpm and pulp density (PD) 1%, the leaching efficiencies of Nd and Fe were 99.99% and 61.36%, respectively. The optimum leaching condition was established by minimizing iron co-extraction vis-à-vis the quantitative recovery of Nd and Pr. The iron content of the leach liquor was removed by the precipitation method using lime (Ca(OH)₂) at pH 4.0. After the removal of iron, the solvent extraction (SX) parameters were optimized and the McCabe–Thiele diagram for extraction and stripping was developed. The McCabe–Thiele plot for extraction with 0.8 M NaD2EHPA (30% neutralized) and stripping with 8% H₂SO₄ showed two stages at A:O = 2:1 and O: A = 4:1, respectively, for the quantitative recovery of Nd and Pr. The final strip solution bearing 72 g/L Nd and 1.088 g/L Pr was crystallized to produce (Nd) ₂(SO₄)₃ and (Pr) ₂(SO₄)₃, respectively.