Friday, April 24, 2009

Amang1

Extraction of Ce(IV) and Gd(III) in monazite in ‘amang’ from ex-mining area


Zaini Hamzah1, Ahmad Saat2 and Nor Monica Ahmad1

1Faculty of Applied Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan
2Institute of Science (IOS), Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), 40450 Shah Alam, Selangor Darul Ehsan



ABSTRACT
One of the by products of the tin mining activities is tin tailing which known as ‘amang’ very rich in rare earth elements, especially the lanthanides which are present as a mixture of phosphate minerals, mainly as ilminite, xenotime and monazite. This study was conducted in Kg Gajah in Kinta Valley occupying the State of Perak, since this area used to be the largest mining area in the 60’s and 70’s. The soil samples were separated using wet separation technique followed by magnetic separation. The monazite was then digested using a mixture of HF/HNO3 acids. The digested samples were extracted for its Ce and Gd content. The extraction behaviour of this rare earth element in those samples has been investigated as a function of Cyanex-302 concentration in diluents. Extractant of bis(2,4,4-trimethylphenyl)-mono-thiophosphinic acid (Cyanex 302) in a n-heptane was used throughout the analysis. Aqueous phase from extraction was analyzed spectrometrically using Arsenazo (III) while organic phase was subjected to rotavapour followed by analysis by fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR). Results from UV/VIS, FTIR shows the best concentration of Cyanex 302, distribution ratio and confirmation of the structure of the compound.

Keywords: rare earth element, Ce, Gd, amang, monazite.

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