Extraction of Rare Earth Elements from Iraqi Phosphate Ore by Using of Tributyl Phosphate

Iraqi phosphate ore deposits have been ascertained to be the second global reserve after Morocco, it has been utilized successfully at Al-Qaim phosphate fertilizers complex in the period 1983-2009. The deposit has valuable content of rare piles of earth and uranium, which is expected to have a good impact on the Iraqi economy if they are recovered from the ore. In the present study, solvent extraction was employed for the extraction of the rare earth elements (REEs), tributyl phosphate (TBP) in kerosene was utilized for extracting ytterbium, yttrium, erbium, and lanthanum from an aqueous solution made via the nitric acid (HNO3) leaching of the concentrate of the Iraqi apatite ore. In the extraction stage, the effect of the concentration of TBP (1, 2, 3, and 3.5) M, contact time (1, 3,5,7,9, and 11) min, and the phase ratio (organic/aqueous) (1/4, 1/3, 1/2, 1/1, 2/1, 3/1, 4/1) were studied. The outcomes manifested, that around 92.9%, 98%, 90.4%, and 98.3% of yttrium, ytterbium, erbium, and lanthanum, respectively were extracted at the best extraction conditions of 3M TBP , 4/1 organic to aqueous phase ratio and 7 min contact time.