Work

Effect of polar organic solvents on the separation of rare earths and transition metal chloride complexes: comparison of ion exchange, extraction chromatography and solvent extraction

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: ) and DGA. The sorption of metal ions was tested from ethanol, ethylene glycol, water and formamide. While Amberlite IRA 402 selectively recovered the iron, copper and cobalt, while leaving the rare-earth elements in solution, the DGA resin was selective for rare-earth elements and could be used for the separation of heavy rare earths from light rare earths. The efficiency of metal uptake by the resins increased with decreasing dielectric constant of the feed solvent. These results were compared to non-aqueous solvent extraction using Aliquat 336 and TODGA from the different polar organic solvents. Significant mutual miscibility observed during these solvent extraction tests demonstrated the advantage of using ion-exchange resins over solvent extraction. However, in the case of chromatographic resins, the functional molecules are only physically bonded by the resin, and loss of sorption capacity due to extractant loss was observed with both TEVA and DGA resin, especially in combination with ethanolic solutions.

Source: RSC Advances

DOI: 10.1039/d5ra00908a

Authors: Brecht Dewulf, Koen Binnemans

Institution: KU Leuven

Language: English

Topic: Radioactive element chemistry and processing

Subfield: Inorganic Chemistry

Field: Chemistry

Domain: Physical Sciences

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $1,042

Funders: European Commission, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Vlaamse regering, Horizon 2020 Framework Programme