Effect of Particle Size Refinement on the Leaching Behavior of Mixed Rare-Earth Concentrate Using Hydrochloric Acid

Abstract

The effects of particle size, temperature, and leaching time on the leaching behavior of rare-earth elements were studied. The leaching efficiency of the rare earth reached 39.24% under leaching conditions of hydrochloric acid concentration of 8.00 mol/L, particle size 95% distributed below 1.5 μm, leaching time of 120 min, and temperature of 90 °C. According to the scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis of the residue, the mechanism of the leaching process was also investigated. Actually, the phase of REFCO3 transformed into that of RECl3 and REF3 but there was an existing intermediate transition, where the phase of REFCO3 on reacting with hydrochloric acid generated that of REOxF3-2x and this process also released RE3+ into the solution. REOxF3-2x continued reacting with hydrochloric acid to release a lot of F-, which on combining with RE3+ formed REF3 precipitation. The leaching kinetics of rare earths follows a shrinking core model that can be expressed as 1 - 3(1 - x)2/3 + 2(1 - x) = k1t. The activation energies are 62.1, 54.8, 35.1, and 34.9 kJ/mol, respectively.