Distribution Kinetics of Rare Earth Elements in Copper Smelting

Lassi Klemettinen, Riina Aromaa, Anna Dańczak, Hugh O’Brien, Pekka Taskinen and Ari Jokilaakso
Additional contact information
Lassi Klemettinen: Department of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering, Aalto University, 02150 Espoo, Finland
Riina Aromaa: Department of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering, Aalto University, 02150 Espoo, Finland
Anna Dańczak: Department of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering, Aalto University, 02150 Espoo, Finland
Hugh O’Brien: Geological Survey of Finland, Vuorimiehentie 2, 02150 Espoo, Finland
Pekka Taskinen: Department of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering, Aalto University, 02150 Espoo, Finland
Ari Jokilaakso: Department of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering, Aalto University, 02150 Espoo, Finland

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-17

Abstract: The use of rare earth elements (REEs) is increasing, mainly due to the growing demand for electric vehicles and new applications in green technology. This results in annual growth of the in-use REE stocks and the amount of End-of-Life (EoL) products containing REEs. REEs are considered critical elements by the EU, mainly because the rest of the world is dependent on China’s supply. Recycling of REEs can help alleviate the criticality of REEs, however, no REEs are currently functionally recycled. In this study, the time-dependent behavior of REEs in copper matte-slag system in primary copper smelting conditions was investigated experimentally at a laboratory scale. Lanthanum and neodymium were chosen to represent all REEs, as they are generally found in the highest concentrations in EoL products, and because REEs all have similar chemical behavior. The experiments were conducted as a function of time in air and argon atmospheres. SEM-EDS, EPMA and LA-ICP-MS methods were used for sample characterization. The results of this work indicate that the REEs strongly favor the slag and the deportment to the slag begins almost instantly when the system reaches high temperatures. With increasing contact times, the REEs distribute even more strongly into the slag phase, where they may be recovered and recycled, if their concentrations are sufficiently high and a suitable hydrometallurgical process can be found.

Keywords: flash smelting; REE; lanthanum; neodymium; kinetics; LA-ICP-MS (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/1/208/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/1/208/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2019:i:1:p:208-:d:302051

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().