ACS Publications. Most Trusted. Most Cited. Most Read
Extraction of Rare Earth Elements from Phosphogypsum Using Mineral Acids: Process Development and Mechanistic Investigation

OR SEARCH CITATIONS

My Activity
Publications

Figure 1Loading Img
Download Hi-Res ImageDownload to MS-PowerPointCite This:Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2022, 61, 1, 102-114
    Applied Chemistry

    Extraction of Rare Earth Elements from Phosphogypsum Using Mineral Acids: Process Development and Mechanistic Investigation
    Click to copy article linkArticle link copied!

    • Sicheng Li
      Sicheng Li
      Laboratory for Strategic Materials, Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, 200 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3E5, Canada
      More by Sicheng Li
      Orcidhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-0746-0176
    • Monu Malik
      Monu Malik
      Laboratory for Strategic Materials, Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, 200 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3E5, Canada
      More by Monu Malik
    • Gisele Azimi*
      Gisele Azimi
      Laboratory for Strategic Materials, Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, 200 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3E5, Canada
      Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Toronto, 184 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3E4, Canada
      *Email: [email protected]
      More by Gisele Azimi
      Orcidhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-0665-7199
    Other Access OptionsSupporting Information (1)

    Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research

    Cite this: Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2022, 61, 1, 102–114
    Click to copy citationCitation copied!
    https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.iecr.1c03576
    Published December 14, 2021
    Copyright © 2021 American Chemical Society
    Request reuse permissions

    Abstract

    Click to copy section linkSection link copied!
    Abstract Image

    A hydrometallurgical process is developed to leach yttrium, neodymium, and dysprosium from phosphogypsum using three mineral acids, namely, nitric acid, hydrochloric acid, and sulfuric acid over a wide range of conditions. Hydrochloric acid is selected as the best leachant, resulting in 94.6% neodymium and 86.1% dysprosium leaching efficiency under the optimum operating conditions of 45 °C, 2.5 M, and 29.8 mL/g L/S ratio. A systematic investigation using statistical analyses and empirical modeling was performed to determine the best leachant and optimum operating conditions that result in high rare earth element (REE) leaching reported in the literature. Thorough characterization techniques, thermodynamic modeling, and kinetic analysis are utilized to elucidate the leaching mechanism. The results indicate that leaching efficiency is highly correlated with phosphogypsum solubility. The occurrence modes of rare earth elements in phosphogypsum are determined using time-of-flight secondary-ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS), which shows that rare earths are present both as isomorphous Ca2+ substitutions and as separate phases such as oxides and sulfates trapped inside the phosphogypsum crystal. Hence, achieving a high leaching yield requires the destruction of the phosphogypsum lattice through acid attack and dissolution.

    Copyright © 2021 American Chemical Society

    Subjects

    what are subjects

    Read this article

    To access this article, please review the available access options below.

    Get instant access

    Purchase Access

    Read this article for 48 hours. Check out below using your ACS ID or as a guest.

    Recommended

    Access through Your Institution

    You may have access to this article through your institution.

    Your institution does not have access to this content. Add or change your institution or let them know you’d like them to include access.

    Supporting Information

    Click to copy section linkSection link copied!

    The Supporting Information is available free of charge at https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.iecr.1c03576.

    • Additional information on the experimental and statistical methodology and supporting results; preliminary kinetic curve of acid leaching (Figure S1); factor effect plots for the empirical extraction model (Figure S2); X-ray diffractogram of leaching residues (Figure S3); TOF-SIMS spectra of the PG sample (Figure S4); annual profit of the HCl acid leaching process (Figure S5); overview of previous studies (Table S1); summary of −1, 0, and +1 factor levels (Table S2); face-centered central composite experimental design matrix (Table S3); compositional analysis of bulk elements (Table S4); overview of the HCl experimental design matrix (Table S5); overview of the HNO3 experimental design matrix (Table S6); overview of the H2SO4 experimental design matrix (Table S7); summary of factor effect coefficients (Tables S8–S10); comparisons of the linearity of ash layer diffusion control (Table S11); HCl acid leaching operating conditions (Table S12); final cost summary for HCl acid leaching (Table S13); and characterization results of CaSO4 precipitate (Table S14) (PDF)

    Terms & Conditions

    Most electronic Supporting Information files are available without a subscription to ACS Web Editions. Such files may be downloaded by article for research use (if there is a public use license linked to the relevant article, that license may permit other uses). Permission may be obtained from ACS for other uses through requests via the RightsLink permission system: http://pubs.acs.org/page/copyright/permissions.html.

    Cited By

    Click to copy section linkSection link copied!
    Citation Statements
    Explore this article's citation statements on scite.ai
    powered by  Scite

    This article is cited by 24 publications.

    1. Xiang-Yang Lou, Jiaxin Liang, Shan Liu, Jingfu Wang, Hong Chen. From Grave to Cradle: Treatment, Resource Recycling, and Valorization of Phosphogypsum Wastes. Environmental Science & Technology Letters 2024, 11 (9) , 908-919. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.estlett.4c00530
    2. Bensanlang Cao, Hua Deng, Shuomin Hou, Ling liu, Zhongjun Li, Taotao Zhang, Gang Xu, Ruan Chi. Bioremediation of Modified Phosphogypsum to Cultivable Anthrosol via Peanut Growth. ACS Sustainable Resource Management 2024, 1 (4) , 652-660. https://doi.org/10.1021/acssusresmgt.3c00071
    3. Victor Famobuwa, Deniz Talan, Oishi Sanyal, Shawn Grushecky, Hassan Amini. A review of biomass-based adsorption for rare earth elements recovery. Journal of Rare Earths 2025, 71 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jre.2025.03.006
    4. Maryam Sadegh Mousavi, Nikolai DeMartini. Leaching phosphorous from the lime mud of kraft pulp mills: Towards sustainability. The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering 2025, 103 (2) , 606-621. https://doi.org/10.1002/cjce.25421
    5. Farid Ahani, Maryam Osali, Hamid Khodaei, Saeid Karimi, Javad Moghaddam. Efficient recovery of rare earth elements from apatite concentrate via pre-leaching, pressure leaching, and precipitation: Process evaluation. Hydrometallurgy 2025, 232 , 106429. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hydromet.2024.106429
    6. Javad Vahabzadeh Pasikhani, Yassine Taha, Jamal Chaouki. Unveiling the role of carbonate in dolomitic limestone for efficient leaching of magnesium from phosphate mine wastes. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering 2025, 13 (1) , 115191. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2024.115191
    7. Raphael Forgearini Pinheiro, Alejandro Grimm, Kátia da Boit Martinello, Mohammad Rizwan Khan, Naushad Ahmad, Luis Felipe Oliveira Silva, Irineu Antônio Schadach De Brum, Guilherme Luiz Dotto, Glaydson Simões dos Reis. Vine pruning waste-based activated carbon for cerium and lanthanum adsorption from water and real leachate. Journal of Rare Earths 2024, 42 (10) , 1960-1968. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jre.2023.10.020
    8. Yikai Liu, Yunmin Wang, Qiusong Chen. Using cemented paste backfill to tackle the phosphogypsum stockpile in China: A down-to-earth technology with new vitalities in pollutant retention and CO2 abatement. International Journal of Minerals, Metallurgy and Materials 2024, 31 (7) , 1480-1499. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-023-2799-y
    9. Raouf Jebali, Khaled Brahmi, Sana Ncib, Elimame Elaloui, Wided Bouguerra. Investigating Leaching Parameters for Enhanced Rare Earth Elements Sustainability and Recovery from Phosphogypsum. Chemistry Africa 2024, 7 (5) , 2821-2831. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42250-024-00935-0
    10. Laurensia Nadya Widjaja, Jenni Lie, Felycia Edi Soetaredjo, Jhy-Chern Liu. Microwave-assisted extraction of rare earth elements from phosphogypsum—Effect of hydrogen peroxide addition. Chemical Engineering and Processing - Process Intensification 2024, 200 , 109800. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cep.2024.109800
    11. Sonali Rout, Abhilash, Pratima Meshram, Patrick Zhang. A Comprehensive Review on Occurrence and Processing of Phosphate Rock Based Resources- Focus on REEs. Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy Review 2024, 45 (4) , 368-388. https://doi.org/10.1080/08827508.2022.2161537
    12. Spencer Cunningham, Maxwell Etherington-Rivas, Gisele Azimi. Solubility of neodymium and dysprosium sulfates at different pH and temperature and the effect of yttrium sulfate, sodium sulfate, and ammonium sulfate mixtures: Strengthening the predictive capacities of the OLI software. Hydrometallurgy 2024, 224 , 106253. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hydromet.2023.106253
    13. Reymar R. Diwa, Estrellita U. Tabora, Nils H. Haneklaus, Jennyvi D. Ramirez. Rare earths leaching from Philippine phosphogypsum using Taguchi method, regression, and artificial neural network analysis. Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management 2023, 25 (6) , 3316-3330. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-023-01753-1
    14. Mohadeseh Riyaheini, Neda Gilani, Javad Vahabzadeh Pasikhani. Engineering the photo-induced charge generation between TiO2 and FeS2 heterojunction for enhanced photocatalytic wastewater purification. Ceramics International 2023, 49 (22) , 34682-34696. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceramint.2023.08.129
    15. Adel S. Orabi, Ahmed H. Ismail, Kholoud M. Abou El-Nour, Bahig M. Atia, Mohamed A. Gado, Mohamed F. Cheira. Nitrate-mediated kinetic leaching for rare earth elements recovery from phosphogypsum. Analytical Chemistry Letters 2023, 13 (5) , 561-580. https://doi.org/10.1080/22297928.2023.2277744
    16. Sabrina F. Lütke, Diana Pinto, Letícia Callegaro Brudi, Luis F.O. Silva, Tito R.S. Cadaval, Fabio A. Duarte, Naushad Ahmad, Asad Nawaz, Guilherme L. Dotto. Ultrasound-assisted leaching of rare earth elements from phosphogypsum. Chemical Engineering and Processing - Process Intensification 2023, 191 , 109458. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cep.2023.109458
    17. Gang Xie, Qingjun Guan, Fujia Zhou, Weijian Yu, Zhigang Yin, Honghu Tang, Zhenyue Zhang, Ru’an Chi. A Critical Review of the Enhanced Recovery of Rare Earth Elements from Phosphogypsum. Molecules 2023, 28 (17) , 6284. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules28176284
    18. Si-Bei Lu, Warmadewanthi, Jhy-Chern Liu. Recovery of rare earth elements from phosphogypsum using subcritical water extraction. Chemical Engineering and Processing - Process Intensification 2023, 190 , 109433. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cep.2023.109433
    19. Guilherme L. Dotto, Julien Vieillard, Diana Pinto, Sabrina F. Lütke, Luis F.O. Silva, Glaydson S. dos Reis, Éder C. Lima, Dison S.P. Franco. Selective adsorption of gadolinium from real leachate using a natural bentonite clay. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering 2023, 11 (3) , 109748. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2023.109748
    20. Ahmed Atef Eliwa, Amal Essam Mubark, Nasr Abelaziz Abdelfattah, Ebrahim Abd El Gawad. Maximizing the exploitation of phosphogypsum wastes using soaking technique with citric acid, recovering rare-earth and residual phosphate contents. Journal of Central South University 2022, 29 (12) , 3896-3911. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11771-022-5209-0
    21. Éder Lima, Diana Pinto, Matias Schadeck Netto, Glaydson Dos Reis, Luis Silva, Guilherme Dotto. Biosorption of Neodymium (Nd) from Aqueous Solutions Using Spirulina platensis sp. Strains. Polymers 2022, 14 (21) , 4585. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym14214585
    22. Fenghui Wu, Xinxin Liu, Guangfei Qu. High value-added resource utilization of solid waste: Review of prospects for supercritical CO2 extraction of valuable metals. Journal of Cleaner Production 2022, 372 , 133813. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.133813
    23. Riya Banerjee, Saswati Chakladar, Ashok Mohanty, Sanchita Chakravarty, Shyamal Kumar Chattopadhyay, M.K. Jha. Review on the environment friendly leaching of rare earth elements from the secondary resources using organic acids. Geosystem Engineering 2022, 25 (3-4) , 95-115. https://doi.org/10.1080/12269328.2022.2135139
    24. Marouen Jouini, Alexandre Royer-Lavallée, Thomas Pabst, Eunhyea Chung, Rina Kim, Young-Wook Cheong, Carmen Mihaela Neculita. Sustainable Production of Rare Earth Elements from Mine Waste and Geoethics. Minerals 2022, 12 (7) , 809. https://doi.org/10.3390/min12070809
    Download PDF
    Go to Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research
    Get e-Alerts
    Get e-Alerts

    Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research

    Cite this: Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2022, 61, 1, 102–114
    Click to copy citationCitation copied!
    https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.iecr.1c03576
    Published December 14, 2021
    Copyright © 2021 American Chemical Society
    Request reuse permissions

    Article Views

    1285

    Altmetric

    -

    Citations

    24
    Learn about these metrics

    Article Views are the COUNTER-compliant sum of full text article downloads since November 2008 (both PDF and HTML) across all institutions and individuals. These metrics are regularly updated to reflect usage leading up to the last few days.

    Citations are the number of other articles citing this article, calculated by Crossref and updated daily. Find more information about Crossref citation counts.

    The Altmetric Attention Score is a quantitative measure of the attention that a research article has received online. Clicking on the donut icon will load a page at altmetric.com with additional details about the score and the social media presence for the given article. Find more information on the Altmetric Attention Score and how the score is calculated.