Product Design, Manufacturing & Innovation Resources
Maison » Solvent Extraction for Rare-Earth Separation

Solvent Extraction for Rare-Earth Separation

1940
  • Frank Spedding
Dispositif d'extraction par solvant en laboratoire pour la séparation des terres rares en génie chimique.

(Image générée à titre d'illustration uniquement)

Separating chemically similar rare-earth elements is notoriously difficult. The primary industrial method is solvent extraction, specifically liquid-liquid counter-current extraction. This process exploits subtle differences in the partition coefficients of rare-earth ions between an aqueous phase and an immiscible organic phase containing a complexing agent. By repeating the process over hundreds of stages, high-purity individual elements can be isolated.

The process relies on the principle of differential partitioning. The rare-earth elements, typically as trivalent ions ([latex]RE^{3+}[/latex]) in an acidic aqueous solution, are brought into contact with an organic solvent (like kerosene) containing an extractant. Common extractants include organophosphorus compounds like tributyl phosphate (TBP) or di-(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid (D2EHPA). The extractant forms a complex with the rare-earth ions, making them soluble in the organic phase. Due to the lanthanide contraction, the stability of these complexes, and thus their tendency to move into the organic phase, varies slightly across the series. Lighter lanthanides (like lanthanum) are more basic and prefer the aqueous phase, while heavier lanthanides (like lutetium) are more acidic and have a greater affinity for the organic extractant.

In a counter-current system, the aqueous and organic phases flow in opposite directions through a series of stages (mixer-settlers). At each stage, the elements re-distribute themselves between the two phases according to their partition coefficient. This multi-stage cascade amplifies the small single-stage separation factor, allowing for the eventual separation of adjacent rare-earth elements to purities exceeding 99.99%. The choice of extractant, pH of the aqueous phase, and temperature are critical parameters that are carefully controlled to optimize the separation for specific elements. This method replaced the earlier, far more laborious fractional crystallization techniques and enabled the large-scale production of rare earths needed for modern technology.

UNESCO Nomenclature: 3305
- Génie chimique

Taper

Procédé chimique

Perturbation

Substantiel

Usage

Utilisation généralisée

Précurseurs

  • discovery of immiscible liquids
  • Loi de distribution de Nernst décrivant le cloisonnement
  • development of fractional crystallization, an earlier, less efficient separation method
  • synthesis of organic complexing agents
  • advances in chemical engineering principles for multi-stage processes

Applications

  • industrial-scale production of high-purity rare-earth elements
  • nuclear reprocessing to separate actinides like plutonium and uranium from fission products
  • hydrometallurgy for extracting metals like cobalt and nickel
  • purification of specialty chemicals and pharmaceuticals

Brevets:

NA

Idées d'innovations potentielles

En raison du trafic généré par les robots de scraping, actuellement supérieur à 40 000 par jour, ce contenu est réservé aux membres de la communauté.
> Connexion < ou > Registre < (100% gratuit) pour y accéder, ainsi qu'à tous les autres contenus et outils à accès restreint.

Related to: solvent extraction, rare-earth separation, liquid-liquid extraction, hydrometallurgy, Ames laboratory, frank spedding, lanthanides, partition coefficient, mixer-settler, d2ehpa.

Contexte historique

Solvent Extraction for Rare-Earth Separation

1940
1940
1940
1940
1940
1945-01-01
1949
1940
1940
1940
1940
1940
1940
1948
1950

(si la date est inconnue ou non pertinente, par exemple « mécanique des fluides », une estimation arrondie de son émergence notable est fournie)

Inventions, innovations et principes techniques connexes

Les images en pleine résolution et les téléchargements sont uniquement disponibles, et 100% gratuits, pour les membres inscrits.