ALKYLBENZENESULFONIC ACID AS A REAGENT FOR FLOTATION EXTRACTION OF LANTHANUM (III), SAMARIUM (III) AND TERBIUM (III) IONS

Abstract

The anionogenic surfactant alkylbenzenesulfonic acid is proposed as a collector for ionic flotation of rare-earth elements. Stability of foams at various concentrations of alkylbenzenesulfonic acid has been preliminarily studied. Shaking 5 mL of solutions with 0.1 or 0.01 mol/L reagent containing for 30 s produces 15 mL of foam. This volume persists for up to 10 min, after which it degrades within 1.5 h. At the alkylbenzenesulfonic acid concentration of 0.001 mol/L, close to the critical micelle concentration, the volume of the formed foam is half as much and its destruction is slower. Further reduction of the alkylbenzenesulfonic acid content leads to the formation of scanty and unstable foams. The possibility of flotation recovery of three-charged ions of rare earth elements (lanthanum, samarium and terbium) with alkylbenzenesulfonic acid from their aqueous solutions with 0.001 mol/L concentration was considered. The influence of the molar ratio of lanthanide ions and alkylbenzenesulfonic acid, as well as the flotation time on the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the flotation process has been studied. Determination of rare earth elements recovery rate was carried out by their residual content in the solution after flotation. Alkylbenzenesulfonic acid predominantly acts as a precipitant in the studied processes. The surfactant ions remaining in the solution contribute to foaming. During flotation for 5 minutes the maximum recovery of lanthanum (III) was 97.21% at the metal vs. reagent ratio 1:3.5. For samarium (III) and terbium (III) a threefold excess of alkylbenzenesulfonic acid is optimal. The extraction of terbium (III) in this case reaches 91.72% for 5 min, samarium (III) – 86.84% for 10 min. For citation: Zabolotnykh S.A., Denisova S.A., Nagovitsyn R.R., Vaulina V.N. Alkylbenzenesulfonic acid as a reagent for flotation extraction of lanthanum (III), samarium (III) and terbium (III) ions. ChemChemTech [Izv. Vyssh. Uchebn. Zaved. Khim. Khim. Tekhnol.]. 2023. V. 66. N 3. P. 45-51. DOI: 10.6060/ivkkt.20236603.6651.