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Department of Mining and Minerals Engineering

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https://hdl.handle.net/10919/24218

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Browsing Department of Mining and Minerals Engineering by Author "Ahn, Allie"

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    Recovery of Rare Earth Element from Acid Mine Drainage Using Organo-Phosphorus Extractants and Ionic Liquids
    Larochelle, Tommee; Noble, Aaron; Strickland, Kris; Ahn, Allie; Ziemkiewicz, Paul; Constant, James; Hoffman, David; Glascock, Caitlin (MDPI, 2022-10-22)
    Acid mine drainage is a legacy environmental issue and one of the largest pollutants in many mining districts throughout the world. In prior work, the authors have developed a process for the recovery of critical materials, including the rare earth elements, from acid mine drainage using a preconcentration step followed by solvent extraction as a concentration and purification technology. As part of the downstream technology development efforts, we have synthesized a suite of ionic liquid extractants that facilitate greater separation factors leading to lower capital costs and reduced environmental impacts. This article provides a comparison of the conventional extractants D2EHPA, EHEHPA and C572 with their respective ionic liquids [c101][D2EHP,c101][EHEHP] and [c101][C572] for the recovery of rare earth elements from acid mine drainage. In the study, laboratory-scale, multi-contact solvent extraction tests were conducted at high and low extractant/dosages. The results show that the ionic liquids varied in performance, with [c101][D2EHP] and [c101][EHEHP] performing poorer than their conventional counterparts and [c101][c572] performing better. Recommendations for further study on [c101][c572] include stripping tests, continuous pilot testing, and techno-economic analysis.