Process optimization of rare earth and aluminum leaching from weathered crust elution-deposited rare earth ore with compound ammonium salts

In order to intensify the leaching process of rare earth（RE） and reduce the impurities in the leachate, ammonium chloride（NH4Cl） and ammonium nitrate（NH4NO3） were mixed as a compound leaching agent to treat the weathered crust elution-deposited RE ore. Effects of molar ratio of NH~＋_4Cl and NH_4NO_3, ammonium（NH_4） concentration, leaching agent pH and flow rate on the leaching process of RE were studied and evaluated by the chromatographic plate theory. Leaching process of the main impurity aluminium（Al） was also discussed in detail. Results showed that a higher initial ammonium concentration in a certain range could enhance the mass transfer process of RE and Al by providing a driving force to overcome the resistance of diffusion. pH almost had no effects on the mass transfer efficiency of RE and Al in the range of 4 to 8. The relationship between the flow rate and height equivalent to a theoretical plate（HETP） could fit well with the Van Deemter equation, and the flow rate at the lowest HETP was determined. The optimum conditions of column leaching for RE and Al were 1：1（molar ratio） of NH_4Cl and NH_4NO_3, 0.2 mol/L of ammonium concentration, pH 4–8 of leaching agent and 0.5 mL /min of flow rate. Under this condition, the mass transfer efficiency of RE was improved, but no change was observed for Al compared with the most widely used ammonium sulfate. Moreover, the significant difference value（around 20 mL） of retention volume at the peak concentration between RE and Al provided a possibility for their separation. It suggested the potential application of the novel compound leaching agent（NH_4Cl/NH_4NO_3）. It was found that the relative concentration of RE in the leachate could be easily obtained by monitoring the pH of leachate.

A review on yttrium solvent extraction chemistry and separation process

This paper reviewed various systems such as neutral phosphorus and acid phosphorus, carboxylic acid and amine extractant for solvent extraction chemistry of yttrium, including thermodynamics, kinetics and yttrium extracting separation process containing the development course and new separation process.

Cathodic reduction process of Al-Cu-Y alloy in fluoride-oxide eutectic system via molten salt electrolysis

Al-Cu-Y alloys were prepared by molten salt electrolysis in fluoride-oxide system composed of electrolyte（Na3 AlF6-AlF3-LiF-MgF2） and oxide（Al2 O3-CuO-Y2 O3）. Cathodic reduction process of Al2 O3,CuO and Y2 O3 were analyzed by cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry. Components and phase composition of alloy samples prepared by potentiostatic electrolysis were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy. The results show that the Al-Cu-Y alloy can be prepared in the AIF3-NaF-5 wt%LiF-5 wt%MgF2（NaF/AlF3 = 2.2, molecular ratio） eutectic system with mixed oxide（Al2 O3-CuO-Y2 O3） through 2 h at the conditions of a temperature of 1208 K, cell voltage3.0 V, cathode current density 0.7 A/cm^2. Al（Ⅲ） and Cu（Ⅱ） ions can be reduced to zero valence Al（0） and Cu（0） directly on carbonaceous electrode surface by instantaneous nucleation, respectively, the reduction process is controlled by diffusion. The reduction potential of Y（Ⅲ） ions is close to the active ions of fluoride melts, but strengthened phase AI3 Y can be formed through electrochemical reduction and alloyed process with active Al（Ⅲ） and Cu（Ⅱ） ions, meanwhile, the Al2 Cu and Al3 Y phases are distributed at the grain boundary of Al matrix.

Anisotropic NdFeB/SmCoCuFeZr composite bonded magnet prepared by warm compaction process

Anisotropic NdFeB/SmCoCuFeZr composite bonded magnets were prepared by warm compaction process. The effects of adding SmCoCuFeZr magnetic powder on the properties of anisotropic bonded NdFeB magnet were investigated in this work. The results show that, both magnetic properties and temperature stability of the bonded magnet can be improved by adding fine SmCoCuFeZr magnetic powder. In the present study, the optimal content of SmCoCuFeZr magnetic powder was about 20 wt.%, in this case, the Br, Hcj, and（BH）maxof the NdFeB/SmCoCuFeZr composite magnet achieved 0.943 T, 1250 kA/m, and168 kJ/m^3, respectively.

Synthesis of CeO_2/fly ash cenospheres composites as novel photocatalysts by modified pyrolysis process

A novel fly ash cenospheres（FACs）-supported CeO2 composite（CeO2/FACs） was successfully synthesized by the modified pyrolysis process.The prepared composites were characterized by X-ray diffraction（XRD）, scanning electron microscopy（SEM）, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy（XPS）, and diffuse reflection spectra（DRS） techniques.XRD results indicated that the CeO2 film coated on cenospheres was a face-centered cubic structure.SEM images confirmed that the CeO2 film was relatively compact.XPS results showed that Ce was present as both Ce4＋ and Ce3＋ oxidation states in CeO2 film coated on FACs substrate.The bandgap of the composite was narrower compared with the pure CeO2.The as-prepared material exhibited good photocatalytic activity for the decolorization of methylene blue（MB） under visible light irradiation, and the first-order reaction rate constant（k） of 0.0028 min–1 for CeO2/FACs composite was higher than 0.0015 min–1 of pure CeO2.The fact that they floated on water meant that CeO2/FACs composites were easily recovered from water by filtration after the reaction.The recycling test revealed that the composites were quite stable during the MB photocatalytic decolorization.The CeO2/ FACs catalyst was therefore promising for practical use in the degradation of pollutants or water cleanup.

Photoluminescence properties and effect of Bi^(3+) dopant of Eu^(3+) and Dy^(3+) co-doped Sr_3V_2O_8

Photoluminescence properties of Sr 2.5 Dy 1/3-x Eu x V 2 O 8（x=0,0.06,0.12,0.18,0.24,0.33） were investigated.The excitation spectra included a broad band in the short wavelength region and several sharp lines in the longer wavelength region,and the spectral origin were discussed.The emission spectra were measured in two different exciting ways,i.e.,exciting the VO 4 group at 270 nm and the Eu 3＋ ion at 398 nm,respectively,and the energy transferring process was reasonably suggested.Furthermore,multi-color emission could be achieved in Sr 2.5 Dy 1/3-x Eu x V 2 O 8,indicating that the studied samples had potential applications in the white light emitting diodes.Further investigation showed that reducing the concentration of Eu 3＋ and Dy 3＋ and introducing Bi 3＋ as a sensitizer ion greatly enhanced the emission intensity.