Separation of Heavy Rare-Earth Elements from Light Rare-Earth Elements Via Solvent Extraction from a Neodymium Magnet Leachate and the Effects of Diluents

Journal article, 2017

In recent decades, rare-earth elements (REEs) have seen a considerable increase in usage in modern technologies and the so-called green energy sources. The REEs are currently regarded to be among the most critical elements by the European Union (EU) and the United States (USA). Large investments are made in the research of recycling of the REEs from end-of-life products and E-scrap. One potential source for recycling of larger amounts of neodymium and dysprosium are end-of-life neodymium magnets. In this work, the selective extraction of REEs from a sulfuric media leachate (containing Nd, Dy, Pr, Gd, Co, and B) obtained by selective roasting of NdFeB waste and leaching was investigated. The extracting agent D2EHPA (di-(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid) diluted in Solvent 70, hexane, octane, cyclohexanone, chloroform, 1-octanol, and toluene was used for the investigation of the effects of using different diluents on the extraction of REEs and the separation between the light and the heavy REEs. The concentrations of D2EHPA in the used diluents were 0.3, 0.6, 0.9, and 1.2 M. The highest separation factors between the heavy and the light REEs were achieved using 0.3 M D2EHPA in hexane, while no B or Co extraction was measurable. The REEs were completely extracted as a group using 0.9 M or 1.2 M D2EHPA in either octane or hexane, also with no B or Co extraction. The aliphatic nonpolar diluents showed better properties than the aromatic and polar ones. The complete stripping of REEs from the loaded organic phases was proven to be efficient using hydrochloric acid at concentrations of 2 M or higher.