Experimental Study on the Separation of Selected Metal Elements (Sm, Co, Fe, and Cu) from Nitric Acid Leachate Using Specific Precipitants

Abstract

As more countries emphasize the importance of the circular economy, recycling resources from waste has become increasingly crucial. This study proposes a novel separation process for SmCo magnets, which can separate and recover metals by precipitation, thus reducing the amount of solvent used. The precipitation process involved the use of Na2SO4, NH4OH, and H2C2O4 to separate Sm, Fe, Cu, and Co, resulting in high precipitation efficiencies of 96.11%, 99.97%, 93.81%, and 98.15%, respectively. Moreover, the recovered metals can be directly used to create magnets after calcination, making this process a step towards achieving a circular economy.

Keywords

• SmCo magnet
• precipitation
• resource recovery
• recycling