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Extraction and Recovery of Rare-Earth Elements and Critical Materials from Coal Waste Using Low Cost Processing Methods: Acid Generation Using Acidithiobacillus Ferrooxidans Mediated Bio-Oxidation of Pyrite

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Rare Metal Technology 2022

Part of the book series: The Minerals, Metals & Materials Series ((MMMS))

Abstract

Acid is an essential component for effective leaching of REEs (rare earth elements) bearing minerals and other sources. Acid can be generated using pyrite found with REE bearing materials. In the presence of A. Ferroxidans, pyrite (FeS2) is used as a source to generate ferric sulfate and sulfuric acid. Such microorganism-based bio-oxidation needs proper conditions for continuous acid generation. In this study, which involved pyrite to generate acid for leaching, a step-by-step analysis and associated details are presented. An automated bioreactor was used for bio-oxidation of pyrite of different levels of purity. Morphology and elemental composition of precipitates were analyzed using scanning electron microscopy equipped with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and the phase purity was identified using X-Ray diffraction analysis. Eh and pH measurements have been performed for different pyrite powders. FeS2 and Fe2+ reaction rate measurements were also done and pyrite usage efficiency was also estimated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA

    Prasenjit Podder, Michael L. Free & Prashant K. Sarswat

Authors
  1. Prasenjit Podder
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  2. Michael L. Free
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  3. Prashant K. Sarswat
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Michael L. Free .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Takanari Ouchi

  2. University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Gisele Azimi

  3. KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden

    Kerstin Forsberg

  4. Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, USA

    Hojong Kim

  5. University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada

    Shafiq Alam

  6. IND LLC, South Jordan, UT, USA

    Neale R. Neelameggham

  7. University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria

    Alafara Abdullahi Baba

  8. University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Hong Peng

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Podder, P., Free, M.L., Sarswat, P.K. (2022). Extraction and Recovery of Rare-Earth Elements and Critical Materials from Coal Waste Using Low Cost Processing Methods: Acid Generation Using Acidithiobacillus Ferrooxidans Mediated Bio-Oxidation of Pyrite. In: Ouchi, T., et al. Rare Metal Technology 2022. The Minerals, Metals & Materials Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-92662-5_5

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