The paper describes some work done on the SEM and XRD characteristic studies of aluminium hydroxide and alumina synthesized by the solvothermal and hydrothermal methods. Hydrothermal process produced boehmite phase aluminium hydroxide while the solvothermal process produced gibbsite phase aluminium hydroxide. Transition reaction study by in-situ XRD shows that the gibbsite is transformed into boehmite before it is converted into alumina. This transformation stage involves a dissolution-recrystallization process. The SEM results show the changes in morphology of the crystals as a result of both these processes.
Growing interest in environmental concern and vast industrial application makes Thorium popular and widely studies nowadays. In this study, solvent extraction process was done to determine the optimized parameters for the extraction of thorium. Parameters studied are the concentrations (M) of nitric acid (HNO3), percent (%) of Tri-Butyl Phosphate (TBP) in diluent and the volume ratio of acid to organic phase (VA:VO). The mixed rare earth (RE) oxalate powder was dissolved in HNO3 and Thorium elements was extracted using TBP diluted in kerosene. Energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF) instrument was used to analyze the initial and final concentration of Thorium left in the aqueous solution. From the ED-XRF quantitative values, calculations were made to determine the extraction efficiency of Thorium. In the end of experiment, it is found that the optimized parameters are at 7M HNO3, 20% TBP diluted in kerosene and at VA:VO ratio of 2:3.
Malaysia has many potential mineral resources including some rare earth elements (REE) minerals such as monazite. REE play critical roles in the applications of advanced materials. Alkaline fusion was introduce to monazite to break the bonding between Light Rare Earth Elements (LREE) and phosphate. In this study, critical parameter such as fusion temperature (100 °C to 250 °C) and duration (1 to 4 hours) were studied. The results shows that it is possible to recover nearly 100% of Neodymium after 2 hours fusion at 150 °C. In the other hand, more than 99% of Cerium and Lanthanum were recovered after 3 hours fusion at similar temperature. By recover most of the element, expectantly high yield of single LREE can be achieved in the forthcoming.
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