Journals →  Tsvetnye Metally →  2022 →  #8 →  Back

RARE METALS, SEMICONDUCTORS
ArticleName Selective recovery of scandium with acid solutions of magnesium sulphate from ESP dust generated by bauxite sintering plants
DOI 10.17580/tsm.2022.08.04
ArticleAuthor Shoppert A. A., Chaikin L. I., Loginova I. V., Napol’skikh Yu. A.
ArticleAuthorData

Ural Federal University named after the First President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin, Department of Non-Ferrous Metallurgy, Yekaterinburg, Russia:

A. A. Shoppert, Associate Professor, Candidate of Technical Sciences, e-mail: a.a.shoppert@urfu.ru
L. I. Chaikin, Lead Engineer, e-mail: l.i.chaikin@urfu.ru
I. V. Loginova, Professor, Doctor of Technical Sciences, e-mail: i.v.loginova@urfu.ru
Yu. A. Napol’skikh, Postgraduate Student, e-mail: julia.napolskikh@urfu.ru

Abstract

Among potential sources of scandium and other rare earth elements (REEs) there are semiproducts generated by the alumina industry. They include red mud and ESP dust generated by sintering plants. Most of the previous research studies focused on red mud leaching using a variety of strong acids. However, because of the need to neutralize the caustic alkali present in red mud, as well as to dissolve iron and other macrocomponents, the above process is associated with a high consumption of reagents. This paper examines the possibility to selectively recover REEs from ESP dust at high pH values in the presence of magnesium cations. It is shown that the prior water leaching of ESP dust helps achieve a double rise in the REE concentration and considerably lower the concentration of Na2O in the solid residue. For selective recovery of REEs, the authors used weak solutions (pH = 2÷5) of sulphuric acid with magnesium sulphate. The latter help to desorb REEs from the surface of minerals contained in the solid residue. Over 75% Sc was recovered through solid residue leaching conducted at the temperature of 80 oC, liquid-to-solid ratio of 10:1 and duration of 60 min at pH = 2. The recovery of iron and titanium did not exceed 1–5%. With all other conditions being equal, raising pH to 3.5 would lead to a drop in the scandium recovery to 63% while the recovery of iron and titanium would drop to 0.2%. It was also found that, as the result of sulphuric acid leaching, the calcium that is present in the initial ESP dust gets precipitated in the form of gypsum and a certain amount of REEs may get carried away.

This research was carried out as part of Grant No. 22-29-01515 of the Russian Science Foundation; the concentration of rare earth elements in the solid residue was determined through inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, supported through an assignment of the Government of the Russian Federation under Grant No. 075-03-2021-051/5.

keywords Sintering plant, bauxite, ESP dust, rare earth elements, scandium, selective leaching
References

1. Beloglazov I., Savchenkov S., Bazhin V., Kawalla R. Synthesis of Mg – Zn – Nd master alloy in metallothermic reduction of neodymium from fluoride – chloride melt. Crystals. 2020. Vol. 10, No. 11. p. 985.
2. Savchenkov S., Bazhin V., Brichkin V., Povarov V., Ugolkov V. et al. Synthesis of magnesium – zinc – yttrium master alloy. Letters on Materials. 2019. Vol. 9, No. 3. pp. 339–343.
3. Savchenkov S., Kosov Y., Bazhin V., Krylov K., Kawalla R. Microstructural master alloys features of aluminum – erbium system. Crystals. 2021. Vol. 11, Iss. 11. p. 1353.
4. Røyset J., Ryum N. Scandium in aluminium alloys. International Materials Reviews. 2005. Vol. 50, Iss. 1. pp. 19–44.
5. Suzdaltsev A. V., Pershin P. S., Filatov A. A., Nikolaev A. Yu. et al. Review — synthesis of aluminum master alloys in oxide-fluoride melts: A Review. Journal of The Electrochemical Society. 2020. Vol. 167, No. 10. p. 102503.
6. Rychkov V. N., Kirillov E. V., Kirillov S. V., Semenishchev V. S., Bunkov G. M. et al. Recovery of rare earth elements from phosphogypsum. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2018. Vol. 196. pp. 674–681.
7. Lokshin E. P., Tareeva O. A., Elizarova I. P. A study of the sulfuric acid leaching of rare-earth elements, phosphorus, and alkali metals from phosphodihydrate. Russian Journal of Applied Chemistry. 2010. Vol. 83, No. 6. pp. 958–964.
8. Zinoveev D., Pasechnik L., Fedotov M., Dyubanov V., Grudinsky P. et al. Extraction of valuable elements from red mud with a focus on using liquid Media — A Review. Recycling. 2021. Vol. 6, Iss. 2. p. 38.
9. Anhaeusser C. R., Maske S. Mineral deposits of Southern Africa. Johannesburg : Geological Society of South Africa, 1986. 2335 p.
10. Lokshin E. P., Tareeva O. A. Production of high-quality gypsum raw materials from phosphogypsum. Russian Journal of Applied Chemistry. 2015. Vol. 88, Iss. 4. pp. 567–573.
11. Binnemans K., Jones P. T., Blanpain B., Van Gerven T., Pontikes Y. Towards zero-waste valorisation of rare – earth – containing industrial process residues: a critical review. Journal of Cleaner Production. 2015. Vol. 99. pp. 17–38.
12. Lokshin E. P., Tareeva O. A. Activation of leaching of rare earth elements from phosphohemihydrate. Russian Journal of Applied Chemistry. 2013. Vol. 86, No. 11. pp. 1638–1642.
13. Alam S., Das B. K., Das S. K. Dispersion and sedimentation characteristics of red mud. Journal of Hazardous, Toxic, and Radioactive Waste. 2018. Vol. 22, Iss. 4. p. 04018025.
14. Khalifa A., Bazhin V., Kuskova Y., Abdelrahim A., Ahmed Y. Study the recycling of red mud in iron ore sintering process. Journal of Ecological Engineering. 2021. Vol. 22, No. 6. pp. 191–201.
15. Trushko V. L., Utkov V. A., Bazhin V. Yu. Topicality and possibilities for complete processing of red mud of aluminous production. Journal of Mining Institute. 2017. Vol. 227, No. 5. p. 547.
16. Brichkin V. N., Dubovikov О. А., Nikolayeva N. V., Besedin А. А. Red mud dewatering and basic trends in its recycling. Obogashchenie Rud. 2014. No. 1. pp. 44–49.
17. Rivera R. M., Ounoughene G., Malfliet A., Vind J., Panias D. et al. A study of the occurrence of selected rare-earth elements in neutralized–Leached bauxite residue and comparison with untreated bauxite residue. Journal of Sustainable Metallurgy. 2019. Vol. 5, No. 1. pp. 57–68.
18. Pasechnik L. A., Shirokova A. G., Koryakova O. V., Sabirzyanov N. A., Yatsenko S. P. Complexing properties of scandium(III) in alkaline medium. Russian Journal of Applied Chemistry. 2004. Vol. 77, No. 7. pp. 1070–1073.
19. Akcil A., Akhmadiyeva N., Abdulvaliyev R., Abhilash, Meshram P. Overview on extraction and separation of rare earth elements from red mud: focus on scandium. Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy Review. 2018. Vol. 39, No. 3. pp. 145–151.
20. Rivera R. M., Ounoughene G., Borra C. R., Binnemans K., Van Gerven T. Neutralisation of bauxite residue by carbon dioxide prior to acidic leaching for metal recovery. Minerals Engineering. 2017. Vol. 112. pp. 92–102.
21. Loginova I. V., Shoppert A. A., Chaikin L. I. Effect of adding sintering furnace electrostatic precipitator dust on combined leaching of bauxites and cakes. Metallurgist. 2015. Vol. 59, No. 7-8. pp. 698–704.
22. Diev V. N., Sabirzyanov N. A., Skryabneva L. M., Yatsenko S. P., Anashkin V. S. Method for scandium extraction from bauxite treatment for alumina production. Patent RF, No. 2201988. Applied: 26.02.2001. Published: 10.04.2003.
23. Shoppert A., Loginova I., Napolskikh J., Valeev D. High-selective extraction of scandium (Sc) from bauxite residue (red mud) by acid leaching with MgSO4. Materials. 2022. Vol. 15, No. 4. p. 1343.
24. Xiao Y., Chen Y., Feng Z., Huang X., Huang L. et al. Leaching characteristics of ion-adsorption type rare earths ore with magnesium sulfate. Transactions of Nonferrous Metals Society of China. 2015. Vol. 25, No. 11. pp. 3784–3790.
25. Borra C. R., Pontikes Y., Binnemans K., Van Gerven T. Leaching of rare earths from bauxite residue (red mud). Minerals Engineering. 2015. Vol. 76. pp. 20–27.
26. Chaikin L., Shoppert A., Valeev D., Loginova I., Napolskikh J. Concentration of rare earth elements (Sc, Y, La, Ce, Nd, Sm) in bauxite residue (red mud) obtained by water and alkali leaching of bauxite sintering dust. Minerals. 2020. Vol. 10, Iss. 6. p. 500.
27. Zhang W., Noble A., Yang X., Honaker R. A Comprehensive review of rare earth elements recovery from coal-related materials. Minerals. 2020. Vol. 10, Iss. 5. p. 451.
28. Lin P., Yang X., Werner J. M., Honaker R. Q. Application of eh-pH diagrams on acid leaching systems for the recovery of REEs from bastnaesite, monazite and xenotime. Metals. 2021. Vol. 11, Iss. 5. p. 734.
29. Shoppert A., Loginova I., Napolskikh J., Kyrchikov A., Chaikin L. et al. Selective scandium (Sc) extraction from bauxite residue (red mud) obtained by alkali fusion-leaching method. Materials. 2022. Vol. 15, No. 2. p. 433.
30. Boyarintsev A. V., Aung H. Y., Stepanov S. I., Shoustikov A. A., Ivanov P. I. et al. Evaluation of main factors for improvement of the scandium leaching process from Russian bauxite residue (red mud) in Carbonate Media. ACS Omega. 2021. p. DOI: 10/2021/acomega.1c04580.

Language of full-text russian
Full content Buy
Back