Separation of Rare Earth Metals from Waste Television Tubes by Solvent Extraction Containing Calixarene Carboxyl Derivative

Abstract

A solvent extraction technique was applied to the recovery of rare earth metals from waste television tubes. The acid leach solution of the fluorescent substance which is found in the TV tubes contains europium and yttrium as rare earth metals and a large amount of zinc ions. In the present study, calixarene carboxyl derivative was found to be very useful as an extractant for the separation of rare earth metals and zinc. The addition of sodium ions to the feed material solution strongly enhances the extraction ability in the calixarene extraction system. Further, the synergistic effect facilitates the separation efficiency between rare earth metals and zinc.