Designer molecules may help valuable minerals float
The date of:
2023-02-01
viewed:
1
Critical Materials Institute researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Arizona State University have studied the mineral monazite, an important source of rare-earth elements, to enhance methods of recovering critical materials for energy, defense and manufacturing applications.Rare-earth elements occur together naturally in mineral ores such as monazite but are economically challenging to recover. New approaches to separate the valuable ore from unwanted materials are needed.The research team combined theory and experiment to gain atom-level insights on monazite, providing a first look at surface features important to the design of flotation collector molecules—materials that work like life jackets to buoy up monazite particles on air bubbles from mixed mineral slurries.'Our efforts address materials needed for froth flotation techniques used to separate high-grade ore from low-value materials during processing. Fundamental research can help us tailor future collectors to make monazite recovery more efficient and cost-effective,' said ORNL's Vyacheslav Bryantsev.The work is published in The Journal of Physical Chemistry C.
Hot News
/
Related to recommend
2023
-
03
-
30
Click on the number of times:
0
source:natureAbstractThe world’s largest current Cu resource is volcanic arc-hosted, porphyry copper deposits. Whether unusual parental magmas or fortuitous combinations of processes accompanying empl...
2023
-
03
-
28
Click on the number of times:
1
source:designnewsRare earth elements (REEs) are a group of 17 metallic elements that are used in high-tech electronics, electric vehicle motors, defense systems, and other consumer goods, according to...
2023
-
03
-
27
Click on the number of times:
1
source:techxploreRare earth elements (REE), a group of 17 metallic elements, are in nearly every piece of technology, including cell phones, televisions, computers and almost every part of a vehicle. ...
2023
-
03
-
24
Click on the number of times:
1
source:astrobiologyA new biosensor engineered by Penn State researchers offers scientists the first dynamic glimpses of manganese, an elusive metal ion that is essential for life.The researchers engin...