Recovery of Light Rare Earth Elements (LREE) from Monazite by Alkaline Fusion

Abstract

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.