METHOD OF EXTRACTING LANTHANIDES FROM APATITE CONCENTRATE Russian patent published in 2011 - IPC C01F17/00 C22B3/06 

FIELD: chemistry.

SUBSTANCE: apatite concentrate is decomposed with nitric acid to obtain nitrate-phosphate solution. Calcium nitrate and sodium fluosilicate are successively extracted from the solution. The solution is neutralised with ammonia to form a precipitate of phosphates of the main part of lanthanides and a mother solution with the residual part of lanthanides. The mother solution is treated by bringing it into contact with an amorphous titanium phosphate-based sorbent at pH of the solution equal to 1.4-1.7 with concentration of the residual part of lanthanides in the sorbent. The lanthanide-rich sorbent is separated, washed with water and treated with 0.5-3.0 M mineral acid with desorption of lanthanides. The amorphous sorbent used is one of the sorbents with the following composition: TiOHPO₄·nH₂O, (Ti_1-xZr_x)OHPO₄·nH₂O, TiONH₄PO₄·nH₂O, (Ti_1-xZr_x)ONH₄PO₄·nH₂O, where n≥1, x=0.05-0.5.

EFFECT: high degree of extraction of lanthanides from apatite concentrate.

3 cl, 6 ex, 6 tbl