Green Approach for Rare Earth Element (REE) Recovery from Coal Fly Ash

Due to the growing demands of rare earth elements (REEs) and the vulnerability of REEs to potential supply disruption, there have been increasing interests in recovering REEs from waste streams such as coal fly ash (CFA). Meanwhile, CFA as a large industrial waste stream in the United States (U.S.) poses significant environmental and economic burdens. Recovery of REEs from CFA is a promising solution to the REE scarcity issue and also brings opportunities for CFA management. This study demonstrates a green system for REE recovery from Class F and C CFA that consists of three modules: REE leaching using citrate, REE separation and concentration using oxalate, and zeolite synthesis using secondary wastes from Modules I and II. In Module I, ∼10 and 60% REEs were leached from the Class F and C CFA samples, respectively, using citrate at pH 4. In Module II, the addition of oxalate selectively precipitated and concentrated REEs from the leachate via the formation of weddellite (CaC₂O₄·2H₂O), while other trace metals remained in solution. In Module III, zeolite was synthesized using wastes from Modules I and II. This study is characterized by the successful recovery of REEs and upcycling of secondary wastes, which addresses both REE recovery and CFA management challenges.