Occurrence, mobility, leaching, and recovery of rare earth elements and trace elements in Sohagpur Coalfield, Madhya Pradesh, India

ABSTRACT

Coal and its by-product are considered a promising resource for the critical elements and rare earth elements (REEs). The study of REEs in coal is in its infancy. Many research methods have tried to recover these valuable REEs, but those methods can be complicated and difficult to apply on an industrial scale. This research work identifies the importance of REEs and its extraction from coal by leaching method. This experimental leaching method has recovered more than 50% of REEs, and for some metals, the recovery value goes up to 90%. Leachate also shows the mobility of trace elements, which can be harmful to the environment. These trace elements need to be removed after burning of coal in thermal power plants. So, this experimental method does the recovery of REEs and trace elements simultaneously.

KEYWORDS:

• Rare earth elements (REEs)
• trace elements
• leaching on coal
• acidic water
• coal
• Pearson correlation coefficient

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Department of Mining Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (BHU), Varanasi, India, and Geochemistry Lab, Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow, India, for providing necessary facilities in this study.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).