Rare Earth Recovery from Phosphate Mining Products

    The Extraction and Recovery of Rare Earth Elements from Phosphate Using PX-107 and Cheloku00ae Polymers

    The extraction and recovery of rare earth elements from phosphate rock, phosphoric acid, and three phosphate fertilizer waste by-products, phosphogypsum, amine tailings, and waste clay, using a novel aqueous-based extraction solution and an adsorption polymer, poly 1-octadecene 2,5-furandione salt, are examined.u00a0 Overall extraction and recovery yields were between 80% for gadolinium and 8% for praseodymium from amine tailings, between 70% for terbium and 7% for praseodymium from phosphogypsum, between 56% for scandium and 15% for praseodymium from phosphate rock, and between 77% for samarium and 31% for praseodymium from waste clay.u00a0 Poly 1-octadecene 2,5-furandione salt effectively bound 100% of the rare earth elements extracted from the solids.u00a0 Treatment of phosphoric acid with poly 1-octadecene 2,5-furandione salt did not effectively recover appreciable amounts of REEs.u00a0 These results suggest that this process may be an efficient means of recovering rare earth elements from phosphate mining waste products, and that treatment of phosphogypsum stack water and leachate with poly 1-octadecene 2,5-furandione salt may effectively reduce metal contamination of both surface and groundwater.
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    The Extraction and Recovery of Rare Earth Elements from Phosphate Mining Materials

    To meet the growing global demand for rare earth elements (REEs), nontraditional mining sources of these metals are being investigated. Phosphate ore and phosphate mining wastes have been identified as possible alternative sources to REEs. In this study, REEs were extracted from Florida phosphate mining materials using mineral and organic acids. The REEs were then recovered at high efficiencies using a chelating polymer, 1-octadecene, polymer with 2,5-furandione, sodium salt. At pH 1.5, the chelation polymer effectively bound nearly 100% of the rare earth elements extracted from the solids. Overall extraction and recovery yields were between 80% for gadolinium and 8% for praseodymium from amine tailings, between 70% for terbium and 7% for praseodymium from phosphogypsum, between 56% for scandium and 15% for praseodymium from phosphate rock, and between 77% for samarium and 31% for praseodymium from waste clay. These results suggest that this chelating polymer efficiently recovers rare earth elements from acidic extracts of phosphate mining waste products.

    Laurino, J.P., et al., Minerals 2019, 9(8), 477

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