Extraction of rare earths from the leach liquor of the weathered crust elution-deposited rare earth ore with non-precipitation

Background: Innovation mission in materials science requires new approaches to form functional materials, wherein the concept of its formation begins in nano/micro scale. Rare earth oxides with general form (RE2O3; RE from La to Lu, including Sc and Y) exhibit particular proprieties, being used in a vast field of applications with high technological content since agriculture to astronomy. Despite of their applicability, there is a lack of studies on surface chemistry of rare earth oxides. Zeta potential determination provides key parameters to form smart materials by controlling interparticle forces, as well as their evolution during processing. This paper reports a study on zeta potential with emphasis for rare earth oxide nanoparticles. A brief overview on rare earths, as well as zeta potential, including sample preparation, measurement parameters, and the most common mistakes during this evaluation are reported. Methods: A brief overview on rare earths, including zeta potential, and interparticle forces are presented. A practical study on zeta potential of rare earth oxides - RE2O3 (RE as Y, Dy, Tm, Eu, and Ce) in aqueous media is reported. Moreover, sample preparation, measurement parameters, and common mistakes during this evaluation are discussed. Results: Potential zeta values depend on particle characteristics such as size, shape, density, and surface area. Besides, preparation of samples which involves electrolyte concentration and time for homogenization of suspensions are extremely valuable to get suitable results. Conclusion: Zeta potential evaluation provides key parameters to produce smart materials seeing that interparticle forces can be controlled. Even though zeta potential characterization is mature, investigations on rare earth oxides are very scarce. Therefore, this innovative paper is a valuable contribution on this field.

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China and the Geopolitics of Rare Earths

10.1093/oso/9780190670931.001.0001 ◽

2017 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Sophia Kalantzakos

Keyword(s):

Rare Earth ◽

Rare Earths ◽

Resource Competition ◽

Renewable Energy Sources ◽

High Tech ◽

Trade Dispute ◽

Policy Responses ◽

Economic Statecraft ◽

The Rare Earth

In 2010, because of a geopolitical incident between China and Japan, seventeen elements of the periodic table known as rare earths became notorious overnight. An “unofficial” and temporary embargo of rare-earth shipments to Japan alerted the world to China’s near monopoly position on the production and export of these indispensable elements for high-tech, defense, and renewable energy sources. A few months before the geopolitical confrontation, China had chosen to substantially cut export quotas of rare earths. Both events sent shockwaves across the markets, and rare-earth prices skyrocketed, prompting reactions from industrial nations and industry itself. The rare-earth crisis is not a simple trade dispute, however. It also raises questions about China’s use of economic statecraft and the impacts of growing resource competition. A detailed and nuanced examination of the rare-earth crisis provides a significant and distinctive case study of resource competition and its spill-over geopolitical effects. It sheds light on the formulation, deployment, longevity, effectiveness, and, perhaps, shortsightedness of policy responses by other industrial nations, while also providing an example of how China might choose to employ instruments of economic statecraft in its rise to superpower status.

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Soil-water characteristics of weathered crust elution-deposited rare earth ores

Transactions of Nonferrous Metals Society of China ◽

10.1016/s1003-6326(21)65589-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 31 (5) ◽

pp. 1452-1464

Author(s):

Zhong-qun GUO ◽

Jian-rong ZHOU ◽

Ke-fan ZHOU ◽

Jie-fang JIN ◽

Xiao-jun WANG ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Rare Earth ◽

Soil Water ◽

Water Characteristics ◽

Weathered Crust

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Effect of potassium chloride on leaching process of residual ammonium from weathered crust elution-deposited rare earth ore tailings

Minerals Engineering ◽

10.1016/j.mineng.2021.106800 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 163 ◽

pp. 106800

Author(s):

Jian Feng ◽

Junxia Yu ◽

Shuxin Huang ◽

Xiaoyan Wu ◽

Fang Zhou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Rare Earth ◽

Potassium Chloride ◽

Leaching Process ◽

Weathered Crust

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Development of pore structure characteristics of a weathered crust elution-deposited rare earth ore during leaching with different valence cations

Hydrometallurgy ◽

10.1016/j.hydromet.2021.105579 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 201 ◽

pp. 105579

Author(s):

Lingbo Zhou ◽

Xiaojun Wang ◽

Chengguang Huang ◽

Hao Wang ◽

Huachang Ye ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Rare Earth ◽

Pore Structure ◽

Structure Characteristics ◽

Weathered Crust

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Separation of Radionuclides from a Rare Earth-Containing Solution by Zeolite Adsorption

Minerals ◽

10.3390/min11010020 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 20

Author(s):

Deniz Talan ◽

Qingqing Huang

Keyword(s):

Rare Earth ◽

Rare Earths ◽

Contact Time ◽

Separation Efficiency ◽

Ph Value ◽

Solid Phase ◽

Separation Performance ◽

Solution Ph ◽

Zeolite Sample ◽

Alternative Sources

The increasing industrial demand for rare earths requires new or alternative sources to be found. Within this context, there have been studies validating the technical feasibility of coal and coal byproducts as alternative sources for rare earth elements. Nonetheless, radioactive materials, such as thorium and uranium, are frequently seen in the rare earths’ mineralization, and causes environmental and health concerns. Consequently, there exists an urgent need to remove these radionuclides in order to produce high purity rare earths to diversify the supply chain, as well as maintain an environmentally-favorable extraction process for the surroundings. In this study, an experimental design was generated to examine the effect of zeolite particle size, feed solution pH, zeolite amount, and contact time of solid and aqueous phases on the removal of thorium and uranium from the solution. The best separation performance was achieved using 2.50 g of 12-µm zeolite sample at a pH value of 3 with a contact time of 2 h. Under these conditions, the adsorption recovery of rare earths, thorium, and uranium into the solid phase was found to be 20.43 wt%, 99.20 wt%, and 89.60 wt%, respectively. The Freundlich adsorption isotherm was determined to be the best-fit model, and the adsorption mechanism of rare earths and thorium was identified as multilayer physisorption. Further, the separation efficiency was assessed using the response surface methodology based on the development of a statistically significant model.

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Effects of Transition Metals and Rare Earths on Iron-Carbon Micro Electrolysis Degrading Dyeing Effluent

Advanced Materials Research ◽

10.4028/www.scientific.net/amr.1010-1012.928 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 1010-1012 ◽

pp. 928-933

Author(s):

Ju Chi Kuang ◽

Xiao Gang Chen ◽

Min Hua Chen

Keyword(s):

Rare Earth ◽

Rare Earths ◽

Valence Electron ◽

Zero Valent Iron ◽

Effluent Treatment ◽

Related Factors ◽

Valence Electron Structure ◽

Iron Catalysis ◽

Orthogonal Experiments ◽

Dyeing Effluent

The principle and methodology of effluent treatment by iron-carbon micro electrolysis were introduced in the paper. Then design of the orthogonal experiments for dyeing effluent treatment was formulated. Discussion of influences of related factors on effluent treatment followed. Results were got after the detailed analysis. Therefore, we deduced the mechanism that the cations of Transition Metal (TM) and rare earth (RE) assist of zero-valent irons catalyzing degradation of dyeing effluent. The mechanism is formed based on the following explanation. Cations of manganese and cobalt easily penetrate Fe0lattices, while Ce4+cations do it difficultly because of their larger radius. Thus Ce4+is weaker than both of Mn2+and Co2+for helping zero-valent irons to improve their activity. Furthermore, because the valence electron structure of Mn2+is more stable than that of Co2+, Mn2+is better for assisting zero-valent iron catalysis of degradation of dyeing effluent than Co2+. Therefore, ranking of influence for zero-valent iron catalysis activity from greatest to smallest is Mn2+, Co2+and Ce4+.

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