The present work describes the extraction of lanthanide (rare earth elements, REE) from low grade bauxite using acid leaching method. The aim of this study is to obtain the best condition for extraction of lanthanides from low grade bauxite. The effect of different parameters such as temperatures and concentration of oxalic acid in leaching process were investigated. The content of La, Ce and Y elements were determined using ICP-OES. The experimental result shows that the efficiencies of lanthanide leaching are the temperature-dependent. Increasing leaching temperature from 45°C to 85°C did not improve recoveries of lanthanides. The most optimum condition was found at oxalic acid leaching of 1 mol/L, leaching temperature at 40°C, and time for 2 hours. The obtained results show that the lanthanides can be leached using oxalic axid. This finding may lead to more effective and economical method to separate lanthanides from low grade bauxite.
Acid leaching recovery and occurrence modes of rare earth elements (REEs) from natural kaolinites