Research finds coal waste as a viable rare earth source
The date of：
2023-11-22
viewed:
0
Coal may be a viable source of rare earth elements, according to a study, critical in the manufacturing of high-demand products like batteries and solar panels. The Clean Coal Technology research group at the University of Witwatersand, Johannesburg conducted research focussing on the chemical composition of coal. Using coal samples from Waterberg, the research group found that the total rare earths content in discard and standard product from the coal mine was above 225 parts per million (ppm). This concentration is well above the cut-off grade of 130ppm for extracting rare earths in coal.As such, the coal and discard could now be reprocessed as raw materials to be used in the production of various clean technologies.Meanwhile, heavy rare earths were richer in run-of-mine samples and light rare earths were dominant in high mineral content discard coal sample. Demand for new sources of rare earthsGovernments and researchers worldwide are investigating new sources of rare earth minerals, including coal ash, acid mine drainage and other mine waste. This is because coal deposits are more widespread and accessible than many mineral deposits, making the process of extracting rare earths from coal relatively simple and inexpensive compared to extracting the elements from mineral ores.
Hot News
/
Related to recommend
2024
-
09
-
19
Click on the number of times:
0
source:TOHOKU UNIVERSITYA group of researchers has achieved significant progress in developing cost-effective catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), a critical component in technologies li...
2024
-
09
-
18
Click on the number of times:
0
source:TechxploreAs the world transitions away from fossil fuels, the demand for rare earth elements (REEs) is only going to increase. These elements are vital to the production of technologies that w...
2024
-
09
-
13
Click on the number of times:
0
source:phys.orgThe synthesis of molybdenum carbide catalysts typically requires high temperature, leading to inevitable passivation in an oxygen-containing atmosphere. Developing a new route to produc...
2024
-
09
-
12
Click on the number of times:
0
source:SMALL CAPSPetratherm (ASX: PTR) has identified high-value titanium at its heavy mineral sand (HMS) discovery within the Muckanippie project area, south-west of Coober Pedy in South Australia.Th...