Process information
| Key Data Set Information | |
| Location | FJ-CN |
| Geographical representativeness description | Fujian province |
| Reference year | 2015 |
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| Use advice for data set | When using this dataset for Life Cycle Assessment, consider the following: - This dataset is specific to solvent extraction facilities in Fujian province, China, and may not be representative of all solvent extraction processes globally. - Pay attention to the substantial radioactive element content, especially thorium and uranium, that might be found in primary REE resources which affects the environmental impact assessment. - Additional purification steps for achieving >99% purity in individual rare earth solutions must be included in the impact assessment. - The separation of adjacent rare earth ions may involve complex extractants' behaviors which should be modeled carefully in the LCA process. |
| Technical purpose of product or process | The rare earth elements (REE) leachate production through solvent extraction and ion adsorption from clay is primarily used in the production of individual rare earth ions, which are subsequently used in various high-technology applications, including electronics, magnets, ceramics, and as catalysts in the chemical industry. The process efficiently separates heavy, medium, and light rare earth ions for the creation of high-purity (>99%) rare earth solutions required in these advanced applications. |
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| General comment on data set | The rare earth elements (REE) leachate production through solvent extraction and ion adsorption from clay is primarily used in the production of individual rare earth ions, which are subsequently used in various high-technology applications, including electronics, magnets, ceramics, and as catalysts in the chemical industry. The process efficiently separates heavy, medium, and light rare earth ions for the creation of high-purity (>99%) rare earth solutions required in these advanced applications. |
| Copyright | No |
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| Quantitative reference | |
| Reference flow(s) | |
| Functional Unit | One ton of rare earth chloride aqueous solution processed at a solvent extraction facility in China to produce individual rare earth carbonates was defined as the functional unit. |
| Technological representativeness | |
| Technology description including background system | After the leaching step, using solvent extraction processes, the metal ion solution is separated into heavy, medium, and light rare earth ions. In addition, due to the ability to handle larger volumes of dilute pregnant solutions in industrial scale, solvent extraction has become the common practice to separate individual rare earth ions. It is worth mentioning that since the separation techniques are according to the variation in the potential of complex formation between the extractants (organic solvents) and the rare earth ions, the separation of neighboring rare earth ions by applying traditional solvent extraction approaches is laborious. Moreover, the presence of significant amount of radioactive elements such as thorium and to a marginal level uranium in primary REE resources and co-extraction of these elements make the REE production process more challenging. Additional solvent extraction steps are also mandatory to produce solutions of individual rare earths with purity higher than 99% |
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Modelling and validation
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