Pyrometallurgical Treatment of Apatite Concentrate with the Objective of Rare Earth Element Recovery : Part II

• Apatite, Ca 5 (PO 4 ) 3 F, is a useful raw material for the production of both elemental phosphorus and phosphoric acid, and the mine tailings present at Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara AB (LKAB) in Kiruna, Sweden, represent a significant potential European source of apatite if upgraded to a concentrate. In the present study, pilot apatite concentrate made from the LKAB tailings has been pyrometallurgically treated using carbon to extract phosphorus without fluxing at temperatures exceeding 1800 °C, with the ultimate objective of recovery of rare earth elements (REEs) from the resulting slag/residue phases. Experimental behavior has been modeled using equilibrium thermodynamic predictions performed using HSC ® . A process is proposed, and mass–energy balance presented, for the simultaneous production of P 4 and CaC 2 (ultimately for acetylene, C 2 H 2 , and PVC production) from apatite, producing a lime residue significantly enriched in REEs. Possible implications to kiln-based processing of apatite are also discussed. 

Ämnesord

TEKNIK OCH TEKNOLOGIER  -- Materialteknik (hsv//swe)

ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY  -- Materials Engineering (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Apatite

IHP

Improved hard process

Phosphorus

Rare earth

REE

Smelting

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