Basic study on mutual separation of lanthanides by multi-step counter-current extraction using diglycolamide

Sasaki, Yuji  ; Ban, Yasutoshi  ; Morita, Keisuke ; Matsumiya, Masahiko*

Although rare earth elements show low concentration in the crust, these metals are available widely in the industrial field. It is important to know the better methods for mutual separation and recovery of the rare earth elements. These elements in nitric acid can be extracted by diglycolamide compounds, however, it shows low mutual separation ratio. Then in order to increase the separation efficiency, multi-step counter-current extraction is applied. In this presentation, the basic results concerning this extraction method will be discussed.