Adsorption of rare earth elements in regolith-hosted clay deposits

Anouk M. Borst; Martin P. Smith; Adrian A. Finch; Guillaume Estrade; Cristina Villanova-de-Benavent; Peter Nason; Eva Marquis; Nicola J. Horsburgh; Kathryn M. Goodenough; Cheng Xu; Jindřich Kynický; Kalotina Geraki

doi:10.1038/s41467-020-17801-5

Nature Communications (Sep 2020)

Adsorption of rare earth elements in regolith-hosted clay deposits

Anouk M. Borst,
Martin P. Smith,
Adrian A. Finch,
Guillaume Estrade,
Cristina Villanova-de-Benavent,
Peter Nason,
Eva Marquis,
Nicola J. Horsburgh,
Kathryn M. Goodenough,
Cheng Xu,
Jindřich Kynický,
Kalotina Geraki

Affiliations

Anouk M. Borst: School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of St. Andrews
Martin P. Smith: School of Environment and Technology, University of Brighton
Adrian A. Finch: School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of St. Andrews
Guillaume Estrade: GET, CNRS, IRD, UPS, University of Toulouse
Cristina Villanova-de-Benavent: School of Environment and Technology, University of Brighton
Peter Nason: School of Environment and Technology, University of Brighton
Eva Marquis: School of Environment and Technology, University of Brighton
Nicola J. Horsburgh: School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of St. Andrews
Kathryn M. Goodenough: British Geological Survey, The Lyell Centre
Cheng Xu: College of Earth Sciences, Guilin University of Technology
Jindřich Kynický: Department of Geology and Pedology, Mendel University
Kalotina Geraki: Diamond Light Source, Physical Science

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-17801-5
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 11, no. 1
pp. 1 – 15

Abstract

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Global resources of heavy Rare Earth Elements (REE) are dominantly sourced from Chinese regolith-hosted ion-adsorption deposits, yet the adsorption mechanisms remain unclear. Here, the authors find that heavy REE are adsorbed as easily leachable 8-coordinated outer-sphere hydrated complexes, dominantly onto kaolinite, in clays from both China and Madagascar.

Published in Nature Communications

ISSN: 2041-1723 (Online)
Publisher: Nature Portfolio
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Science
Website: https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

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