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Danouche M, Bounaga A, Oulkhir A, Boulif R, Zeroual Y, Benhida R, Lyamlouli K. Advances in bio/chemical approaches for sustainable recycling and recovery of rare earth elements from secondary resources. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 912:168811. [PMID: 38030017 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168811] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2023] [Revised: 10/30/2023] [Accepted: 11/21/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023]
Abstract
Rare Earth Elements (REEs) are indispensable in the growing smart technologies, such as smart phones and electronic devices, renewable energy, new generation of hybrid cars, etc. These elements are naturally occurring in specific geological deposits (bastnäsite, monazite, and xenotime), primarily concentrated in the regions of China, Australia, and the USA. The extraction and processing of REEs and the mismanagement of secondary REE resources, such as industrial waste, end-of-life materials, and mining by-products, raise major environmental and health concerns. Recycling represents a convincing solution, avoiding the necessity to separate low-value or coexisting radioactive elements when REEs are recovered from raw ore. Despite these advantages, only 1 % of REEs are usually recycled. This review overreached strategies for recycling REEs from secondary resources, emphasizing their pivotal role. The predominant approach for recycling REEs involves hydrometallurgical processing by leaching REEs from their origins using acidic solutions and then separating them from dissolved impurities using techniques like liquid-liquid extraction, membrane separation, chromatography, adsorption, flotation, and electrochemical methods. However, these methods have notable disadvantages, particularly their over requirements for water, reagents, and energy. Biohydrometallurgy introduces an innovative alternative using microorganisms and their metabolites to extract REEs through bioleaching. Other investigations are carried out to recover REEs through biological strategies, including biosorption, affinity chromatography with biological ligands, bioflotation employing biological surfactants, and bioelectrochemical methods. However, biohydrometallurgical processes can also be relatively slow and less suitable for large-scale applications, often lacking specificity for targeted REEs recovery. Overcoming these challenges necessitates ongoing research and development efforts to advance recycling technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Danouche
- Department of Chemical & Biochemical Sciences-Green Process Engineering (CBS), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), Ben Guerir 43150, Morocco
| | - A Bounaga
- Department of Chemical & Biochemical Sciences-Green Process Engineering (CBS), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), Ben Guerir 43150, Morocco
| | - A Oulkhir
- Department of Chemical & Biochemical Sciences-Green Process Engineering (CBS), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), Ben Guerir 43150, Morocco; Institute of Chemistry, Nice UMR7272, Côte d'Azur University, French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), Nice, France
| | - R Boulif
- Department of Chemical & Biochemical Sciences-Green Process Engineering (CBS), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), Ben Guerir 43150, Morocco
| | - Y Zeroual
- Situation Innovation, OCP Group BP 118, Jorf Lasfar, El Jadida 24000, Morocco
| | - R Benhida
- Department of Chemical & Biochemical Sciences-Green Process Engineering (CBS), Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), Ben Guerir 43150, Morocco; Institute of Chemistry, Nice UMR7272, Côte d'Azur University, French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), Nice, France.
| | - K Lyamlouli
- College of Sustainable Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, AgroBioScience Department, Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), Ben Guerir 43150, Morocco
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Electrochemical properties and extraction of Dy on liquid Sn electrode in LiCl–KCl molten salt. J Solid State Electrochem 2023. [DOI: 10.1007/s10008-022-05373-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
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Smolenski V, Novoselova A, Volkovich VA, Ryzhov AA, Yan Y, Xue Y, Ma F. Speciation of dysprosium in molten LiCl–KCl–CsCl eutectic: An electrochemistry and spectroscopy study. J Electroanal Chem (Lausanne) 2022. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jelechem.2021.115955] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
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Kim K, Candeago R, Rim G, Raymond D, Park AHA, Su X. Electrochemical approaches for selective recovery of critical elements in hydrometallurgical processes of complex feedstocks. iScience 2021; 24:102374. [PMID: 33997673 PMCID: PMC8091062 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2021.102374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Critical minerals are essential for the ever-increasing urban and industrial activities in modern society. The shift to cost-efficient and ecofriendly urban mining can be an avenue to replace the traditional linear flow of virgin-mined materials. Electrochemical separation technologies provide a sustainable approach to metal recovery, through possible integration with renewable energy, the minimization of external chemical input, as well as reducing secondary pollution. In this review, recent advances in electrochemically mediated technologies for metal recovery are discussed, with a focus on rare earth elements and other key critical materials for the modern circular economy. Given the extreme heterogeneity of hydrometallurgically-derived media of complex feedstocks, we focus on the nature of molecular selectivity in various electrochemically assisted recovery techniques. Finally, we provide a perspective on the challenges and opportunities for process intensification in critical materials recycling, especially through combining electrochemical and hydrometallurgical separation steps.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kwiyong Kim
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Riccardo Candeago
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Guanhe Rim
- Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.,Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy, The Earth Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Darien Raymond
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
| | - Ah-Hyung Alissa Park
- Department of Earth and Environmental Engineering, Department of Chemical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA.,Lenfest Center for Sustainable Energy, The Earth Institute, Columbia University, New York, NY 10027, USA
| | - Xiao Su
- Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
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Geysens P, Lin PC, Fransaer J, Binnemans K. Electrodeposition of neodymium and dysprosium from organic electrolytes. Phys Chem Chem Phys 2021; 23:9070-9079. [PMID: 33885082 DOI: 10.1039/d0cp06606k] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
A new class of organic electrolytes has been developed for the electrodeposition of rare-earth metals at room temperature. These electrolytes consist of a rare-earth bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide or chloride salt and a borohydride salt, dissolved in the ether solvents 1,2-dimethoxyethane or 2-methyltetrahydrofuran. In these electrolytes, a soluble lanthanide(iii) borohydride complex [Ln(BH4)4]- is formed, which allows for the electrodeposition of neodymium- or dysprosium-containing layers. The electrochemistry of these electrolytes was characterized by cyclic voltammetry. The deposits were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence (EDX) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and the results suggest the presence of metallic neodymium and dysprosium.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pieter Geysens
- KU Leuven, Department of Chemistry, Celestijnenlaan 200F, P.O. box 2404, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium.
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Electrochemical behaviors of neodymium ions on a solid iron electrode in molten lithium fluoride and reaction kinetics of forming Nd2Fe17 intermetallic compound. Sep Purif Technol 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.seppur.2020.117882] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
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Li M, Zhang Y, Li H, Jiang H, Han W, Sun Y. Electrochemical formation of Mg–La–Mn alloys by coreduction of Mg(II), La(III) and Mn(II) in LiCl+KCl molten salts. J RARE EARTH 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jre.2020.12.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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8
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Li Z, Liu Z, Li W, Han W, Li M, Zhang M. Electrochemical recovery of dysprosium from LiCl-KCl melt aided by liquid Pb metal. Sep Purif Technol 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.seppur.2020.117124] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
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9
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Electrochemical Removal of Rare Earth Element in LiCl-KCl Molten Salt. SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY OF NUCLEAR INSTALLATIONS 2020. [DOI: 10.1155/2020/2392489] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
This study was carried out to examine the removal of rare earth (RE) elements by electrodeposition for the purification and reuse of LiCl-KCl salt after electrorefining and electrowinning. The electrochemical behavior of RE elements (Dy and Gd) in LiCl-KCl-DyCl3-GdCl3 at 500°C was investigated using the cyclic voltammetry (CV) technique using Mo and Mg electrodes. It was observed that the reduction potential of the RE elements shifted at the Mg electrode owing to the alloy formation with Mg (RE-Mg alloy). Subsequently, a series of potentiostatic electrolysis tests were conducted to remove the RE elements in the salt and check the formation of deposits at the Mg and Mo electrodes. The scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDS) technique was used to confirm that the reduced RE metals were deposited on the surface of the Mg electrode. However, no significant deposit on the Mo electrode was observed, and a mud-like deposit was found on the bottom of the electrochemical cell. The salt analysis performed by employing the inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES) indicated that the removal efficiency of Dy3+ and Gd3+ through electrodeposition was 83.5∼95.2 and 91.6∼95.2%, respectively.
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Han W, Li W, Li M, Yang Z, Chen L, Zhang Y, Meng Y, Li Q, Sun Y. Electrochemical extraction of metallic Y using solid and liquid double cathodes. Electrochim Acta 2020. [DOI: 10.1016/j.electacta.2020.136233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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11
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Li W, Han W, Li M, Zhang Y, Zhang Y, Yue M, Sun Y. Electroreduction of Dy(III) assisted by Zn and its co‐deposition with Zn(II) in LiCl–KCl molten salt. Appl Organomet Chem 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/aoc.5817] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Wenlong Li
- Key Laboratory of Superlight Materials and Surface Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering Harbin Engineering University Harbin 150001 China
| | - Wei Han
- Key Laboratory of Superlight Materials and Surface Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering Harbin Engineering University Harbin 150001 China
| | - Mei Li
- Key Laboratory of Superlight Materials and Surface Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering Harbin Engineering University Harbin 150001 China
| | - Yongcheng Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Superlight Materials and Surface Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering Harbin Engineering University Harbin 150001 China
| | - Yingchun Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Superlight Materials and Surface Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering Harbin Engineering University Harbin 150001 China
| | - Mengti Yue
- Key Laboratory of Superlight Materials and Surface Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering Harbin Engineering University Harbin 150001 China
| | - Yang Sun
- Key Laboratory of Superlight Materials and Surface Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering Harbin Engineering University Harbin 150001 China
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Jee YT, Park M, Cho S, Yun JI. Selective morphological analysis of cerium metal in electrodeposit recovered from molten LiCl-KCl eutectic by radiography and computed tomography. Sci Rep 2019; 9:1346. [PMID: 30718707 PMCID: PMC6361957 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-38022-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2018] [Accepted: 12/17/2018] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
This paper presents, for the first time, a study to analyze the surface morphology of metal extracted from a high temperature molten salt medium in the electrodeposit using x-ray radiography and computed tomography. Widely used methods such as scanning electron microscopy and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry/mass spectrometry are destructive and the related processes are often subject to the air condition. The x-ray imaging can provide rich information of the target sample in a non-destructive way without invoking hydrolysis or oxidation of a hygroscopic sample. In this study, the x-ray imaging conditions were optimized as following: tube voltage at 100 kVp and the current exposure time product at 8.8 mAs in our in-house x-ray imaging system. LiCl-KCl and cerium metals used in this work produced substantially distinguishable contrasts in the radiography due to their distinctive attenuation characteristics, and this difference was well quantified in the histograms of brightness. Electrodeposits obtained by chronoamperometry and chronopotentiometry demonstrated a completely different behavior of electrodeposition even at the same applied charge. In particular, computed tomography and volumetric analysis clearly showed the structural and morphological dissimilarity. The structure of cerium metal in the electrodeposit was successfully separated from the chloride salt structure in the CT image by an image segmentation process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Young Taek Jee
- Department of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering, KAIST, 291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Miran Park
- Department of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering, KAIST, 291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea
| | - Seungryong Cho
- Department of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering, KAIST, 291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea.
| | - Jong-Il Yun
- Department of Nuclear and Quantum Engineering, KAIST, 291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, 34141, Republic of Korea.
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Wang Y, Li M, Zhang M, Han W, Jiang T, Yan Y. Electrochemical deposition of praseodymium (III) and copper (II) and extraction of praseodymium on copper electrode in LiCl-KCl melts. J Solid State Electrochem 2018. [DOI: 10.1007/s10008-018-4080-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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15
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Han W, Li Z, Li M, Gao Y, Yang X, Zhang M, Sun Y. Electrolytic extraction of dysprosium and thermodynamic evaluation of Cu-Dy intermetallic compound in eutectic LiCl-KCl. RSC Adv 2018; 8:8118-8129. [PMID: 35542024 PMCID: PMC9078506 DOI: 10.1039/c7ra13423a] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2017] [Accepted: 02/05/2018] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
The electrochemical reduction of dysprosium(iii) was studied on W and Cu electrodes in eutectic LiCl–KCl by transient electrochemical methods. Cyclic voltammogram and current reversal chronopotentiogram results demonstrated that dysprosium(iii) was directly reduced to dysprosium (0) on the W electrode through a single-step process with the transfer of three electrons. Electrochemical measurements on the Cu electrode showed that different Cu–Dy intermetallics are formed. Moreover, the thermodynamic properties of Cu–Dy intermetallic compounds were estimated by open circuit chronopotentiometry in a temperature range of 773–863 K. Using the linear polarization method, the exchange current density (j0) of dysprosium in eutectic LiCl–KCl on the Cu electrode was estimated, and the temperature dependence of j0 was studied to estimate the activation energies associated with Dy(iii)/Cu5Dy and Dy(iii)/Cu9/2Dy couples. In addition, potentiostatic electrolysis was conducted to extract dysprosium on the Cu electrode, and five Cu–Dy intermetallic compounds, CuDy, Cu2Dy, Cu9/2Dy, Cu5Dy and Cu0.99Dy0.01 were identified by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectrometry. Meanwhile, the change of dysprosium(iii) concentration was monitored using inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry, and the maximum extraction efficiency of dysprosium was found to reach 99.2%. The electrochemical reduction of dysprosium(iii) was studied on W and Cu electrodes in eutectic LiCl–KCl by transient electrochemical methods.![]()
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Han
- Key Laboratory of Superlight Materials and Surface Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Material Science and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Engineering University Harbin 150001 China +86 451 8253 3026 +86 451 8256 9890.,Institute of Nuclear Energy and Safety, Harbin Engineering University Harbin 150001 China
| | - Zhuyao Li
- Key Laboratory of Superlight Materials and Surface Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Material Science and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Engineering University Harbin 150001 China +86 451 8253 3026 +86 451 8256 9890
| | - Mei Li
- Key Laboratory of Superlight Materials and Surface Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Material Science and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Engineering University Harbin 150001 China +86 451 8253 3026 +86 451 8256 9890.,Institute of Nuclear Energy and Safety, Harbin Engineering University Harbin 150001 China
| | - Yinyi Gao
- Key Laboratory of Superlight Materials and Surface Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Material Science and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Engineering University Harbin 150001 China +86 451 8253 3026 +86 451 8256 9890.,Institute of Nuclear Energy and Safety, Harbin Engineering University Harbin 150001 China
| | - Xiaoguang Yang
- Key Laboratory of Superlight Materials and Surface Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Material Science and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Engineering University Harbin 150001 China +86 451 8253 3026 +86 451 8256 9890.,Institute of Nuclear Energy and Safety, Harbin Engineering University Harbin 150001 China
| | - Milin Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Superlight Materials and Surface Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Material Science and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Engineering University Harbin 150001 China +86 451 8253 3026 +86 451 8256 9890.,Institute of Nuclear Energy and Safety, Harbin Engineering University Harbin 150001 China
| | - Yang Sun
- Key Laboratory of Superlight Materials and Surface Technology, Ministry of Education, College of Material Science and Chemical Engineering, Harbin Engineering University Harbin 150001 China +86 451 8253 3026 +86 451 8256 9890.,Institute of Nuclear Energy and Safety, Harbin Engineering University Harbin 150001 China
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Li M, Liu B, Ji N, Sun Y, Han W, Jiang T, Peng S, Yan Y, Zhang M. Electrochemical extracting variable valence ytterbium from LiCl–KCl–YbCl3 melt on Cu electrode. Electrochim Acta 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.electacta.2016.02.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
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17
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Electrochemical extraction and separation of praseodymium and erbium on reactive magnesium electrode in molten salts. J Solid State Electrochem 2015. [DOI: 10.1007/s10008-015-2989-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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18
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Su LL, Liu K, Liu YL, Wang L, Yuan LY, Wang L, Li ZJ, Zhao XL, Chai ZF, Shi WQ. Electrochemical behaviors of Dy(III) and its co-reduction with Al(III) in molten LiCl-KCl salts. Electrochim Acta 2014. [DOI: 10.1016/j.electacta.2014.09.095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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