S. Jansone-Popova, S. Pramanik, B. Evans, M. Lamb, T. Levitskaia, B. O’Kelley, P. Keller
ORNL,
United States
Keywords: rare earth elements, lanthanides, solvent extraction, separation
Summary:
Rare earth element (REE) separation remains a significant challenge and represents a major cost in producing purified REEs from ore. The current industrial standard relies on solvent extraction using phosphonic acids, a process characterized by excessive chemical consumption, large volumes of wastewater, and hundreds of processing steps to isolate individual REEs. This project aims to advance domestic REE production by developing a two-ligand separation technology that leverages the complementary selectivity of lipophilic and hydrophilic neutral ligands. This presentation will explore the distinctions between acidic and neutral extractants, outline the step-by-step design of the two-neutral ligand solvent extraction process, discuss pathways for recycling all chemicals, and detail the system's separation efficiency and flowsheet design.