Selective recovery of the main metal values from Rosetta monazite mineral concentrate

ABSTRACT

A new trend for the recovery of uranium from hydrous oxide cake produced after alkali breakdown of Rosetta monazite mineral concentrate via Di-ethylene Tri-amine Penta Acetic acid (DTPA) lixiviate was applied. The procedure based on the selective chelating behavior of Di-ethylene Tri-amine Penta Acetic acid (DTPA) towards both Th(IV) (98%) and REEs (99%) leaving uranium alone”. Both the reaction mechanism and kinetic studies of the dissolution process have been interpreted. The results show that the dissolution mechanism of thorium and REEs were chemically controlled and the recorded activation energy was 30.03 and 35.258 kJ/mol for Th(IV) and REEs respectively.

KEYWORDS:

• Uranium
• rare earth elements
• thorium
• hydrous oxide cake of monazite
• di-ethylene tri-amine penta acetic acid
• shrinking core model

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.