Screening the Effects of ligand chemistry and geometry on rare earth element partitioning from saline solutions to functionalized adsorbents

The goal of the project is to prepare adsorbents, solid supports functionalized with organic ligands, for separation and recovery of lanthanides from chemically complex geothermal fluids of geothermal power plants. The project involves initial development and testing of low-cost, reusable functionalized adsorbents for selective recovery of critical elements from geothermal fluids in multistep processes, with pre-concentration of rare earth elements (REE) on the resin and recovery by acid elution. Ligands with known ability to bond selectively with REE in aqueous solution are examined. Tests with simulated low-temperature geothermal waters under simulated extraction process conditions are conducted. Results of material characterization and uptake experiments are presented.