Effect of super gravity on successive precipitation and separation behaviors of rare earths in multi-components rare-earth system

Re-concentrate is a complex multi-components Re-system consisting of Ce, La, Pr and Nd, which brings great difficulties for investigating the transformation and separation behaviors of REEs. The effect of super-gravity field on the mass transfer and phase separation behaviors of REEs was investigated in this paper, and the phenomenon of successive precipitation and separation of REEs was discovered. The Re3+ was firstly precipitated into Re-oxyfluoride phase with OF3-, which overcame the interface tension to be evidently separated into the bottom layer under the action of super gravity. Subsequently, the Re3+ were successively precipitated with FeO3 3-, SiO4 4- and PO4 3- into Re-ferrate phase and britholite phase, which were separated further into the middle and top layers along the super gravity direction. Moreover, various REEs were efficiently recovered into the different Re-phases, respectively. The theoretical and experimental results verified the significant enhancement of super gravity on the mass transfer and phase separation of REEs, and its efficient application in REEs recovery from multi-component Re-system.