Recovery and Separation of Dysprosium from Waste Neodymium Magnets through Cyphos IL 104 Extraction

Wei-Sheng Chen; Guo-Cai Jian; Cheng-Han Lee

doi:10.3390/ma15155281

Recovery and Separation of Dysprosium from Waste Neodymium Magnets through Cyphos IL 104 Extraction

Materials (Basel). 2022 Jul 30;15(15):5281. doi: 10.3390/ma15155281.

Authors

Wei-Sheng Chen¹, Guo-Cai Jian¹, Cheng-Han Lee¹

Affiliation

¹ Department of Resources Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, No. 1, Daxue Rd., East Dist., Tainan City 701401, Taiwan.

Abstract

In the present study, the extraction of rare earth elements (REEs) from waste neodymium magnets using phosphorus ionic liquid Cyphos IL 104 was investigated. The objective was to recover and separate the heavy REE (Dy) from light REEs (Nd and Pr). Therefore, the experimental parameters of ionic liquid extraction, including contacting time, the initial pH value, extractant concentration, and O/A ratio, have been optimized. The highest separation factor α_Dy/Nd of 45.18 and α_Dy/Pr of 47.93 has been achieved. Following the ionic liquid extraction, the comparison of different stripping agents and the stripping parameters (the concentration of stripping agent and A/O ratio) were also explored. In short terms, this research demonstrates the optimal parameters of Cyphos IL 104 for selectively extracting high REE (Dy) and reveals its potential for recovering and separating REEs in real waste.

Keywords: Cyphos IL 104; ionic liquid; neodymium magnet; rare earth elements; recovery.

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.