Abstract
A novel process for extracting rare earths such as Ce, La contained in bastnaesite mineral (ReCO3F, Re = rare earths) has been developed in this work. This process is composed of three steps. The first step is milling of the mixture of bastnaesite and NaOH powders, forming mechanochemically Re(OH)3 and Na compounds. The second step is washing of the ground mixture with water, removing the soluble Na compounds. The third step is leaching of the washed powder with HCl or H2SO4 solutions at room temperature, extracting the rare earths. The extractive yield of rare earths is improved with an increase in milling time. Furthermore, HCl solution is superior to H2SO4 as a leaching medium. In the present work, more than 90% of the rare earths in the bastnaesite sample was extracted by dilute HCl solution from the mixture milled for 120 min.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 231-241 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Hydrometallurgy |
Volume | 47 |
Issue number | 2-3 |
Publication status | Published - 1998 Jan 1 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
- Metals and Alloys
- Materials Chemistry