Column leaching of lanthanides from Abu Tartur phosphate ore with kinetic study

Abstract The dynamic leaching of lanthanides from a west desert phosphate ore, Egypt (Abu Tartur) by hydrochloric acid, nitric acid and sulfuric acid solutions was investigated in this study as a function of acid concentration, flow rate and the presence of some additives such as boric acid. Also the kinetics of leaching of lanthanides was investigated as a function of temperature. It was found that the leaching process could be described by a shrinking-core model, with activation energy about 5.9, 13.8 and 21.9 kJ/M for leaching by HCl, HNO 3 and H 2 SO 4 , respectively. Based on the experimental results, an empirical equation related to the rate constant of lanthanides leaching to leaching temperature was established for the purpose of process design.