Rare Earth Recovery and Separation from Ionic Liquids

Description:

An innovative, environmentally-friendly process for recovering rare earth elements, such as lanthanides.

Inventors: Kenneth Czerwinski & David Hatchett

Czerwinski: Current projects include speciation of actinides in spent fuel, chemical speciation of actinides in separations, nuclear forensics, and radioelement compounds and material synthesis

Hatchett: His expertise includes Electrochemistry, Materials, Chemical Sensor, Catalysis. On top of that, his research focuses on electrochemistry of materials with applications in fuel cell catalysis, lanthanide/actinide materials, and polymer metal composites.

The Invention:

     This process provides the ability to recover rare earth elements, such as lanthanides. The processes may include adding water and a nonaqueous acid to an ionic liquid, and dissolving an oxide of a first rare earth element directly into the ionic liquid to form an ionic solution comprising at least about 0.1 weight percent water the acid and an ion of the first rare earth element 

     Rare earth metals are valued for their unique magnetic, optical and catalyst properties which are used in many clean energy technologies including wind turbines, electric vehicles, photovoltaic thin films and fluorescent lighting. Lanthanides are typically found in mineral deposits that require costly processing and refinement. The separation and purification of the individual lanthanide elements is laborious and energy intensive. Thus, dissolution, separation, and recovery technologies are sought to enable more rapid, flexible, efficient, and environmentally-friendly extraction and separation processes.

Benefits:

  • The applied electrochemical potential was used to preferentially deposit rare earth metals from a mixture.
  • In some cases, the ionic solution may be maintained at a temperature of 30° C. or less during application of the potential.
  • In some cases, the applied potential may be varied to create desired concentration gradients in a deposit including multiple rare earth metals.
  • In some cases, the applied potential may be pulsed to achieve different molar ratios and/or morphology differences. 

Market Opportunity:

Anticipated to reach a valuation of 41.9 million by 2028, the Ionic Liquid market is expected to grow with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 11.6% spanning the years 2023 to 2028. In a recent report by Verified Market Research, the Global Rare-Earth Metals Market is forecasted to experience a significant expansion, with a CAGR of 14.9% from 2023 to 2030. The market, valued at USD 5.37 Billion in 2022, is expected to soar to USD 14.24 Billion by the conclusion of the forecast period.

Intellectual property

  • US Patent Number 10,422,048
Patent Information:
For Information, Contact:
Michael Mosher
Director of Commercialization
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
702-895-5697
michael.mosher@unlv.edu
Inventors:
Kyle Boutin
Kenneth Czerwinski
Janelle Droessler
David Hatchett
Karen Jayne
Michael Kimble
Keywords:
Chemistry
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