Makanyire, T, Sanchez-Segado, S and Jha, A (2016) Separation and recovery of critical metal ions using ionic liquids. Advances in Manufacturing, 4 (1). pp. 33-46. ISSN 2095-3127
Abstract
Separation and purification of critical metal ions such as rare-earth elements (REEs), scandium and niobium from their minerals is difficult and often determines if extraction is economically and environmentally feasible. Solvent extraction is a commonly used metal-ion separation process, usually favored because of its simplicity, speed and wide scope, which is why it is often employed for separating trace metals from their minerals. However, the types of solvents widely used for the recovery of metal ions have adverse environmental impact. Alternatives to solvent extraction have been explored and advances in separation technologies have seen commercial establishment of liquid membranes as an alternative to conventional solvent extraction for the recovery of metals and other valuable materials. Liquid membrane transport incorporates solvent extraction and membrane separation in one continuously operating system. Both methods conventionally use solvents that are harmful to the environment, however, the introduction of ionic liquids (ILs) over the last decade is set to minimize the environmental impact of both solvent extraction and liquid membrane separation processes. ILs are a family of organic molten salts with low or negligible vapour pressure which may be formed below 100 oC. Such liquids are also highly thermally stable and less toxic. Their ionic structure makes them thermodynamically favorable solvents for the extraction of metallic ions. The main aim of this article is to review the current achievements in the separation of REE, scandium, niobium and vanadium from their minerals, using ILs in either solvent extraction or liquid membrane processes. The mechanism of separation using ILs is discussed and the engineering constraints to their application are identified.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s) 2016. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. |
Keywords: | critical metals, ionic liquids (ILs), niobium, tantalum, rare earth elements (REEs), vanadium, scandium |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Engineering & Physical Sciences (Leeds) > School of Chemical & Process Engineering (Leeds) > Institute for Materials Research (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number NERC NE/L002280/1 EPSRC GR/T08074/01 NERC NE/M01147X/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 29 Jan 2016 14:28 |
Last Modified: | 23 Jun 2023 21:58 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s40436-015-0132-3 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Shanghai University |
Identification Number: | 10.1007/s40436-015-0132-3 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:94409 |