Scandium Oxide Purification via Selective Precipitation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for producing scandium oxide struggle to achieve high purity due to impurities reporting into the final product, making it difficult to obtain greater than 99.9% pure scandium oxide.
Innovation Solution
A method involving an aqueous solution with carbonate ions, carbamate ions, or hydrogen carbonate ions is used to transfer scandium from an impure material, separating the scandium-loaded solution and precipitating a solid scandium-containing material while minimizing impurity precipitation, followed by further processing to achieve high purity scandium oxalate and oxide.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional hydrometallurgical techniques (ion exchange, solvent extraction, multistage precipitation) are used to produce scandium oxide, then scandium can be recovered from various feed materials, but impurities report into the final product making greater than 99.9% purity difficult to obtain
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses selective precipitation by controlling pH parameters to separate scandium from impurities. By adjusting the pH to specific ranges, scandium precipitates as hydroxide or oxalate while impurities remain in solution or precipitate at different stages, enabling greater than 99.9% purity to be achieved
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts scandium from impure feed materials through selective precipitation processes. Scandium is separated from the matrix of impurities by precipitating it in a controlled manner, allowing the impurities to be left behind in the solution or removed in separate steps
2Quantity of substance
If scandium is precipitated as hydroxide or oxalate using conventional methods, then scandium can be separated from solution, but impurities also report to the precipitate decreasing final purity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary separation steps before final scandium precipitation. Impurities are removed or adjusted in the solution prior to scandium precipitation, ensuring that when scandium precipitates, the impurity levels are already reduced, leading to higher purity final product
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses intermediary steps such as adjusting solution composition, adding specific reagents, or creating intermediate precipitates that selectively carry impurities away from scandium. These intermediary actions facilitate the final high-purity scandium precipitation
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method effectively reduces impurity levels, enabling the production of scandium oxide with 99.9% purity or greater by selectively precipitating scandium and rejecting impurities during the process.
Implementation Method 1
contacting the aqueous solution with a scandium containing material containing one or more impurities to transfer scandium into the solution
Implementation Method 2
providing an aqueous solution containing carbonate ions, carbamate ions, hydrogen carbonate (HCO3+) ions, or mixtures of two or more thereof
Implementation Method 3
treating the scandium loaded solution to cause precipitation of a solid scandium-containing material whilst avoiding or minimising precipitation of impurities present in the aqueous solution
Implementation Method 4
Common final steps in these hydrometallurgical processes involve the production of a scandium hydroxide precipitate, which may be directly calcined to form a final scandium oxide product
Data Source
AI summary
A method for producing a solid scandium-containing material comprises providing an aqueous solution containing carbonate ions, carbamate ions, hydrogen carbonate (HCO3+) ions, or mixtures thereof, contacting the aqueous solution with a scandium containing material containing one or more impurities to produce a scandium-loaded solution and a depleted scandium containing material, separating the depleted scandium containing material from the scandium loaded solution, treating the scandium loaded solution to cause precipitation of a solid scandium-containing material while avoiding or minimizing precipitation of impurities present in the aqueous solution, and separating the solid scandium-containing material from the solution. In another embodiment, a high purity scandium containing is produced by contacting a solid material containing scandium with an acid to form a scandium loaded solution, separating the scandium loaded solution from any solids, adding additional acid to the scandium loaded solution to reduce the pH and precipitating a high purity scandium oxalate material by adding oxalic acid to the solution.