Abstract

Adsorption offers an efficient and eco-friendly method for the recovery of rare earth elements (REEs). However, it is not well known that most adsorbents are not eco-friendly. Rational design of next generation adsorbents should aim to enhance their green properties. In this work, sepiolite, Fe₃O₄ and itaconic acid were selected as the green raw materials. Poly(itaconic acid)/magnetite sepiolite composite (PIA/MSEP) was prepared using water as the solvent under mild reaction conditions and the entire process uses neither the bulk use of toxic organic solvents nor the addition of dangerous strong acid or alkali. The results indicate that PIA/MSEP has satisfactory maximum adsorption capacities of 178.57, 151.52 and 106.38 mg·g⁻¹ for Er³⁺, Nd³⁺ and Ce³⁺, respectively, with excellent regeneration stability. The PIA/MSEP exhibits outstanding adsorption rates that provide above 90% capacity within 10 min for Er³⁺ and Nd³⁺. This versatile material is a potential candidate for applications in the removal of REEs.

摘要

吸附提供了一种有效且环保的方法来回收稀土元素（REE）。然而，众所周知大多数吸附剂都不环保。下一代吸附剂的合理设计应旨在增强其绿色性能。在这项工作中，选择了海泡石，Fe ₃ O ₄和衣康酸作为绿色原料。聚衣康酸/磁铁矿海泡石复合物（PIA / MSEP）是在温和的反应条件下以水为溶剂制备的，整个过程既不大量使用有毒有机溶剂，也不添加危险的强酸或强碱。结果表明，PIA / MSEP对Er ^3+的最大吸附容量为178.57、151.52和106.38 mg·g ^-1。，Nd ³⁺和Ce ³⁺分别具有出色的再生稳定性。PIA / MSEP具有出色的吸附速率，可在10分钟内为Er ³⁺和Nd ³⁺提供90％以上的容量。这种多功能材料是去除稀土元素的潜在候选材料。