Enhanced leaching recovery of rare earth elements from a phosphatic waste clay through calcination pretreatment

[摘要] Phosphatic clay is a waste material produced during the beneficiation of phosphate ore, which likely poses severe environmental problems. In this study, a phosphatic clay containing 258 ppm of total rare earth elements (REEs) was used as a feedstock for REE recovery. By reacting with 0.1 M HCl at 75 degrees C for 3 h, around 36 % of light REEs and 65 % of heavy REEs were extracted from the raw material. However, after calcination pretreatment at 600 degrees C for 2 h, the recovery was increased to 73 % and 81 %, respectively, which are close to the recoveries obtained from the raw material using a much higher acid concentration of 1.2 M. Based on the findings from sequential chemical extraction tests and scanning electron microscopy analysis, the positive impact was explained by the decomposition and conversion of REE-bearing minerals into more leachable species. Using a higher calcination temperature of 900 degrees C, recovery of both the light and heavy REEs was largely reduced relative to the raw material. Mineralogical analyses showed that the dominant minerals existing in the material, such as muscovite, were fused and sintered during the calcination at 900 degrees C. These reactions likely caused the decreases in the recovery. The results and findings from this study will contribute to the beneficial uses of phosphatic clay and the production of REEs.

[发布日期] 2021-10-15

[关键词] Phosphatic clay;Rare earth elements;Calcination;Acid leaching;Mineralogy