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The Effect of Fulvic Acid on the Leaching of a Weathered Rare-Earth Ore

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Abstract

The effect of fulvic acid on the leaching of a weathered crust elution-deposited rare-earth ore, using ammonium sulfate as lixiviant, has been investigated. The results show that fulvic acid can enhance the leaching process effectively. With the addition of fulvic acid to the lixiviant at a concentration of 0.1 wt pct, the leaching extraction of rare-earth elements increased by 8.38 pct and the ammonium sulfate concentration decreased by 25 wt pct. Fulvic acid promotes the leaching process. It also reacts with rare-earth ions, forms soluble complexes, reduces the activity of the leached rare-earth ions, and increases the concentration difference of ion diffusion. These results highlight a new approach for making the leaching process of low-grade weathered crust elution-deposited rare-earth ore more efficient and also for lowering the lixiviant consumption.

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The authors acknowledge the support of National Science and technology support program (2012BAC11B07), Jiangxi province major disciplines academic and technical leaders training program (2010DD01200), and GANPO555 project of Jiangxi Province.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Mining Engineering, Jiangxi University of Science and Technology, Ganzhou, 341000, P.R. China

    Xian-ping Luo (Professor), Bo Feng (Associate Professor), Peng-cheng Wang (Master Student), He-peng Zhou (Associate Professor) & Xiao-ming Chen (Master Student)

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  1. Xian-ping Luo
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  2. Bo Feng
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  3. Peng-cheng Wang
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  4. He-peng Zhou
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  5. Xiao-ming Chen
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Correspondence to Bo Feng.

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Manuscript submitted August 9, 2014.

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Luo, Xp., Feng, B., Wang, Pc. et al. The Effect of Fulvic Acid on the Leaching of a Weathered Rare-Earth Ore. Metall Mater Trans B 46, 2405–2407 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11663-015-0425-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11663-015-0425-8

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