Microfluidic solvent extraction of rare earth elements from a mixed oxide concentrate leach solution using Cyanex® 572

Solvent extraction of rare earth elements (REEs) involves hundreds of individual extraction and phase separation cycles, fine adjustment of solution conditions, and individual stage and overall process times that are long. Therefore, we investigated microfluidic solvent extraction (microSX) of REEs...

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Main Authors: Kolar, E., Catthoor, R., Kriel, F., Sedev, Rossen, Middlemas, S., Klier, E., Hatch, G., Priest, C.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Pergamon 2016
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/54033
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author Kolar, E.
Catthoor, R.
Kriel, F.
Sedev, Rossen
Middlemas, S.
Klier, E.
Hatch, G.
Priest, C.
author_facet Kolar, E.
Catthoor, R.
Kriel, F.
Sedev, Rossen
Middlemas, S.
Klier, E.
Hatch, G.
Priest, C.
author_sort Kolar, E.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Solvent extraction of rare earth elements (REEs) involves hundreds of individual extraction and phase separation cycles, fine adjustment of solution conditions, and individual stage and overall process times that are long. Therefore, we investigated microfluidic solvent extraction (microSX) of REEs from a leached mixed rare earth oxide (REO) mineral concentrate using a phosphorus-based cationic exchange extractant (Cyanex® 572). A Y-Y microchip was used, in which the aqueous and organic phases were contacted for up to 15 s with sub-second resolution. The extraction rate and selectivity for heavy REEs was determined for the prepared leach solution. Good selectivity for heavy REEs was observed using the microchip for leach solutions adjusted to pH 0.7. Extraction rates on the microchip were typically double that observed in conventional (bulk) solvent extractions, except for Lu and Yb, which were three-times faster. The faster extraction can be largely attributed to the higher surface-to-volume ratio achieved in our microfluidic experiments; double that observed for bulk extractions under the conditions employed.
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institution Curtin University Malaysia
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last_indexed 2025-11-14T09:57:30Z
publishDate 2016
publisher Pergamon
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-540332017-09-13T16:11:54Z Microfluidic solvent extraction of rare earth elements from a mixed oxide concentrate leach solution using Cyanex® 572 Kolar, E. Catthoor, R. Kriel, F. Sedev, Rossen Middlemas, S. Klier, E. Hatch, G. Priest, C. Solvent extraction of rare earth elements (REEs) involves hundreds of individual extraction and phase separation cycles, fine adjustment of solution conditions, and individual stage and overall process times that are long. Therefore, we investigated microfluidic solvent extraction (microSX) of REEs from a leached mixed rare earth oxide (REO) mineral concentrate using a phosphorus-based cationic exchange extractant (Cyanex® 572). A Y-Y microchip was used, in which the aqueous and organic phases were contacted for up to 15 s with sub-second resolution. The extraction rate and selectivity for heavy REEs was determined for the prepared leach solution. Good selectivity for heavy REEs was observed using the microchip for leach solutions adjusted to pH 0.7. Extraction rates on the microchip were typically double that observed in conventional (bulk) solvent extractions, except for Lu and Yb, which were three-times faster. The faster extraction can be largely attributed to the higher surface-to-volume ratio achieved in our microfluidic experiments; double that observed for bulk extractions under the conditions employed. 2016 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/54033 10.1016/j.ces.2016.04.009 Pergamon restricted
spellingShingle Kolar, E.
Catthoor, R.
Kriel, F.
Sedev, Rossen
Middlemas, S.
Klier, E.
Hatch, G.
Priest, C.
Microfluidic solvent extraction of rare earth elements from a mixed oxide concentrate leach solution using Cyanex® 572
title Microfluidic solvent extraction of rare earth elements from a mixed oxide concentrate leach solution using Cyanex® 572
title_full Microfluidic solvent extraction of rare earth elements from a mixed oxide concentrate leach solution using Cyanex® 572
title_fullStr Microfluidic solvent extraction of rare earth elements from a mixed oxide concentrate leach solution using Cyanex® 572
title_full_unstemmed Microfluidic solvent extraction of rare earth elements from a mixed oxide concentrate leach solution using Cyanex® 572
title_short Microfluidic solvent extraction of rare earth elements from a mixed oxide concentrate leach solution using Cyanex® 572
title_sort microfluidic solvent extraction of rare earth elements from a mixed oxide concentrate leach solution using cyanex® 572
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/54033