About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2027 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Rare Metal Extraction & Processing
|
| Presentation Title |
Deep eutectic solvent leaching of goethite-rich rare earth mine tailings |
| Author(s) |
Youjin Park, Deddy C. Nababan, Rina Kim, Mark I. Pownceby, Warren J. Bruckard, Aaron Torpy, Sujeong Lee |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Deddy C. Nababan |
| Abstract Scope |
Rare earth elements (REEs) are in high demand due to their essential role in many technologies. As the volume of high-grade RE ores declines, research has turned to reprocessing secondary sources such as REE-rich mine tailings. This work investigated the application of deep eutectic solvent (DES) leaching to recover REEs from goethite-rich RE mine tailings containing 8.4% TREO, with 52.2% Fe2O3 impurity. The REEs present were dominated by Nd, La, and Ce and were hosted mainly within the RE phosphate minerals monazite (7.2%), crandallite (7.9%), and florencite (1.4%). Iron oxide was the main gangue oxide present as goethite (55.1%) and hematite (3.2%). To enhance the REE leaching performance, alkaline roasting using NaOH, followed by water leaching, was conducted on the tailings to convert REE-phosphates into water-soluble REE-oxides. During these steps, 85-99% phosphorus was removed. The DES used in this work was a mixture of ethylene glycol and maleic acid. DES leaching of the dephosphorised samples was conducted at 70 °C for 6 h. REE leaching efficiency varied but typically ranged from 10-50% (except for Sc and Y, which were higher). |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Recycling and Secondary Recovery, Hydrometallurgy, Extraction and Processing |