Purification of lanthanum chloride solution through tertiary amine extraction: thermodynamic and graded assessment

Zulkifli, N. and Shoparwe, N. and Yusoff, A.H. and Abdullah, A.Z. and Ahmad, Mohammad Norazmi (2026) Purification of lanthanum chloride solution through tertiary amine extraction: thermodynamic and graded assessment. Kompleksnoe Ispolzovanie Mineralnogo Syra, 344 (1). pp. 28-37. ISSN 2224-5243 E-ISSN 2616-6445

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Abstract

Purification of lanthanum chloride from high-load zinc contaminants remains a major challenge in producing grade 5N lanthanum oxides. This study investigates the process of matrix-driven solvent extraction using tertiary amine N235 to treat a 1.41 M rare earth oxides (REO) industrial lanthanum chloride feed containing 3000 mg/L zinc. Thermodynamic modelling with Medusa Hydra and Langmuir isotherms revealed that the high chloride activity (> 4 M) of the matrix induced significant changes in coordination towards the extractable [ZnCl4]2- complex. This transition has a spontaneous Gibbs free energy of -14.68 kJ/mol. While the two-stage counter-current flow sheet meets the industry target of less than 50 mg/L zinc, the five-stage configuration achieves a four-log reduction to 0.23 mg/L, effectively achieving 99.999% purity. This reagent's lean approach, using water-induced stripping, offers a sustainable and mathematically validated framework for ultra-high purity rare earth finishes

Item Type:	Article (Journal)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	lanthanum chloride, solvent extraction, zinc, N235, McCabe-Thiele
Subjects:	Q Science > QD Chemistry
Kulliyyahs/Centres/Divisions/Institutes (Can select more than one option. Press CONTROL button):	Kulliyyah of Science > Department of Chemistry
Depositing User:	Dr Mohammad Norazmi Ahmad
Date Deposited:	25 May 2026 16:20
Last Modified:	25 May 2026 16:44
Queue Number:	2026-05-Q3564
URI:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/id/eprint/129143

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