Solution-chemistry analysis of ammonium bicarbonate consumption in rare-earth-element precipitation

A solution-chemistry analysis is applied to estimating the consumption of ammonium bicarbonate in the recovery of rare-earth (RE) elements from leachates of weathered clays. The theoretical analysis shows that a two-step process is needed for recovering RE from the leachates of the weathered clays by precipitation using ammonium bicarbonate. The first step is a precipitation at solution pH 5 to remove impurities such as Fe and Al. The second step is to precipitate RE by adjusting the solution pH above 8. The consumption of ammonium bicarbonate was found to depend on the concentration of RE elements and impurities in the leachates. The total amount of ammonium bicarbonate consumption for the entire process was determined experimentally, and the results showed an excellent agreement with that calculated based on solution-chemistry analysis. The decomposition of H2CO3 was identified as one of the main causes of ammonium bicarbonate overdose, accounting for up to 41 pct in comparison to 20 pct consumption for the removal of impurities. The amount of ammonium bicarbonate required in terms of the NH4HCO3: RE2O3 (RE oxides) molar ratio was found to be 4:1 for maximal RE recovery. An overall RE recovery around 90 pct was achieved with a product purity being about 90 pct.