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Leaching of rare earth elements from coal ashes using acidophilic chemolithotrophic microbial communities

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Abstract

A method for leaching rare earth elements from coal ash in the presence of elemental sulfur-oxidizing communities of acidophilic chemolithotrophic microorganisms was proposed. The optimal parameters determined for rare element leaching in reactors were as follows: temperature, 45°C; initial pH, 2.0; pulp density, 10%; and the coal ash to elemental sulfur ratio, 10 : 1. After ten days of leaching, 52.0, 52.6, and 59.5% of scandium, yttrium, and lanthanum, respectively, were recovered.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Winogradsky Institute of Microbiology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

    M. I. Muravyov, A. G. Bulaev, V. S. Melamud & T. F. Kondrat’eva

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  1. M. I. Muravyov
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  2. A. G. Bulaev
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  3. V. S. Melamud
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  4. T. F. Kondrat’eva
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Correspondence to T. F. Kondrat’eva.

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Original Russian Text © M.I. Muravyov, A.G. Bulaev, V.S. Melamud, T.F. Kondrat’eva, 2015, published in Mikrobiologiya, 2015, Vol. 84, No. 2, pp. 216–224.

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Muravyov, M.I., Bulaev, A.G., Melamud, V.S. et al. Leaching of rare earth elements from coal ashes using acidophilic chemolithotrophic microbial communities. Microbiology 84, 194–201 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0026261715010087

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0026261715010087

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