Exploring the potential of rare earth element recovery from monazite

Rare earth elements (REEs) are a group of 17 chemically similar elements that are essential for a wide range of modern technologies. One of the main sources of REEs is monazite, which contains cerium, lanthanum, neodymium, and other REEs. The increasing demand for REEs, driven by the growth of technology and renewable energy industries, makes it imperative for the industry to develop new methods for the extraction and separation of these critical elements. The focus of the study is to extract rare earth element (REE) hydroxides from a monazite ore originating from the Jolotca-Ditrau region of Romania. The process focuses on chemical purification to get REE hydroxides and eliminate uranium and thorium. Chemical purification involves leaching with NaOH, dissolving in HCl, extracting with HDEHP/kerosene, and precipitating REE hydroxides with NH4OH, resulting in a 203.8 g (46.28 %) of REE hydroxides and similar to 0,22g Th hydroxide retained in the organic solution.