Selective separation of neodymium from synthetic wastewater by ion flotation

ABSTRACT

In this study, the effect of various ions with different radius and charge such as aluminum, calcium, and iron on the selective ion flotation of neodymium using sodium dodecyl sulfate as a collector was investigated. Firstly, the optimum conditions of neodymium ion flotation were determined by evaluating the main factors on the process efficiency including collector dosage, air flowrate, and pH. The optimum conditions for ion flotation of neodymium are as following: collector dosage = 21 × 10⁻⁴ M, air flow rate = 100 mL/min, and pH = 3 with 85.4% and 26.5% recovery for neodymium and water, respectively. Then, the effect of other ions on the ion flotation of neodymium was evaluated.

KEYWORDS:

• Neodymium
• selective ion flotation
• interaction
• FTIR
• water recovery