EXTRACTANTS FOR ADJACENT RARE EARTH ION SEPARATION WITH IONIC LIQUID-BASED SOLVENT EXTRACTION

摘要

The demand of rare earth elements (REEs), primarily those naturally-occurring elements in the lanthanide series, continues to increase. Many technologies require the use of REEs including green energy technologies, nuclear fuel cycles (NFC), and electronics. As the market for these devices grows, more efficient means of producing and enriching large quantities of REEs are required. Despite their name, REEs are moderately abundant in the earth's crust, but the separation processes required to enrich them has proved challenging due to the presence of undesirable radioactive byproducts.