Separation of radium and rare earth elements from monazite
Inactive Publication Date: 2010-01-28
HOLDEN CHARLES S +1
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[0008]This invention discloses means and methods of a novel chemical separations process that more efficiently recovers and separates the economically va
Problems solved by technology
Radioactive decay products from thorium-containing materials, including monazite mining tailings, add cost to monazite mining operations.
This stewardship cost for the rare earth, thorium, and phosphate extractive industries is a significant commercial expendit
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[0020]The chemical separation process summarily described above is now set out fully for monazite. A similar approach works for bastnaesite and other thorium-containing ores. The monazite sand is first conventionally concentrated. This is accomplished by separating the uniform particle size grains based on physical properties, specific gravity, magnetic susceptibility, electrical conductivity, and surface properties. The monazite-containing sand is processed and conductive ilmenite and conductive rutile constituents are removed. Non-conducting monazite, which is heavy and moderately magnetic, is isolated from non-magnetic components and other materials remaining in the feed material. The resulting concentrate having been processed by magnetic and electrical means is generally more than 90% monazite. This concentrated monazite sand is finely ground and is ready for digestion by the inventive process described herein.
[0021]Monazite is a phosphate ore. It occurs in three varieties: (Ce...
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Abstract
A method of chemically extracting radium-228, rare earth metals, thorium, the decay products of thorium, and phosphates from thorium-containing ores. The method involves breaking thorium-containing ore into fragments, wetting the fragments with a concentrated strong acid to make a slurry, heating the slurry, passing the heated solution through a first anion exchange column, retaining metals and radium-228 captured on the resin, allowing the radium-228 ions to decay to actinium-228, purifying the actinium-228 fraction, sending the actinium-228 fraction through a capture column, eluting the captured thorium-228 with acid, removing radium from the solution, retaining the radium-228 fraction for isomer in-growth, retaining decay products from the radium-228, separating the REEs from the process stream; and eluting and retaining the REEs.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0001]1. Technical Field[0002]The present invention relates generally to a novel method of chemical extraction fashioned to extract and separate rare earth metals, thorium, its decay products, and phosphates from thorium-containing ores. The novel process efficiently recovers phosphoric acid, radium-228, radium-228's decay sequence, including its isomers, actinium-228 and thorium-228, and the rare earth elements including lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, promethium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium ytterbium, lutetium, yttrium and scandium from various thorium containing head ores or feed materials including monazite and bastnaesite.[0003]2. Background Art[0004]Radium-228 is present in small quantities, averaging approximately 3.5 grams per thousand tons of refined monazite sand. Radium-228 is a highly valuable material for medical applications as some of its natural or artificial decay products can b...
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