Development of a Cost-Effective Extraction Process for the Recovery of Heavy and Critical Rare Earth Elements from the Clays and Shales Associated with Coal
Sponsor : USDOE Office of Fossil Energy (FE)
Publication Date : June 29, 2020
Abstract : The primary objective of the project was to investigate and develop a novel process technology that can extract and concentrate rare earth elements (REE) from coal refuse material, namely shales and clays, to a concentration of greater than or equal to 2% by weight. The extraction and recovery technologies developed in this project leverage the low-cost ion-exchange leaching techniques that are currently applied for commercial heavy rare earth production in South China. In addition to the ion-exchange extraction technology, the project also investigated a novel method of solution concentration and recovery based on ion and/or precipitate flotation.