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Hedwig S, Yagmurlu B, Peters EM, Misev V, Hengevoss D, Dittrich C, Forsberg K, Constable EC, Lenz M. From Trace to Pure: Pilot-Scale Scandium Recovery from TiO 2 Acid Waste. ACS Sustain Chem Eng 2023; 11:5883-5894. [PMID: 37091124 PMCID: PMC10114082 DOI: 10.1021/acssuschemeng.2c06979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2022] [Revised: 03/27/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Scandium (Sc), declared a critical raw material in the European Union (EU), could face further supply issues as the EU depends almost entirely on imports from China, Russia, and Ukraine. In this study, a tandem nanofiltration-solvent extraction procedure for Sc recovery from titania (TiO2) acid waste was piloted and then augmented by antisolvent crystallization. The new process, comprising advanced filtration (hydroxide precipitation, micro-, ultra-, and nanofiltration), solvent extraction, and antisolvent crystallization, was assessed in relation to material and energy inputs and benchmarked on ScF3 production. From ∼1 m3 of European acid waste containing traces of Sc (81 mg L-1), ∼13 g of Sc (43% yield, nine stages) was recovered as (NH4)3ScF6 with a purity of approximately 95%, demonstrating the technical feasibility of the approach. The production costs per kilogram of ScF3 were lower than reported market prices, which underscores a competitive process at scale. Although a few technical bottlenecks (e.g., S/L separation and electricity consumption) need to be overcome, combining advanced filtration with solvent extraction and antisolvent crystallization promises a future supply of this critical raw material from European secondary sources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Hedwig
- FHNW,
Institute for Ecopreneurship, Hofackerstrasse 30, 4132 Muttenz, Switzerland
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Basel, Mattenstrasse 24a, 4058 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Bengi Yagmurlu
- TU
Clausthal, Institute of Mineral and Waste Processing, Recycling and
Circular Economy Systems, Walter-Nernst-Str. 9, 38678 Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Germany
| | | | - Victor Misev
- FHNW,
Institute for Ecopreneurship, Hofackerstrasse 30, 4132 Muttenz, Switzerland
| | - Dirk Hengevoss
- FHNW,
Institute for Ecopreneurship, Hofackerstrasse 30, 4132 Muttenz, Switzerland
| | | | - Kerstin Forsberg
- Department
of Chemical Engineering, KTH Royal Institute
of Technology, 100-44 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Edwin C. Constable
- Department
of Chemistry, University of Basel, Mattenstrasse 24a, 4058 Basel, Switzerland
| | - Markus Lenz
- FHNW,
Institute for Ecopreneurship, Hofackerstrasse 30, 4132 Muttenz, Switzerland
- Department
of Environmental Technology, Wageningen
University, Bornse Weilanden
9, 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands
- . Tel: +41 61 228 5686
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