Cerium is the most prevalent and lowest cost rare earth element (REE) in hard rock
bastnaesite type ores. Cerium separation is facilitated by oxidation of cerium from trivalent to
tetravalent state, where its solubility is greatly reduced. In the initial study, the
thermodynamics and kinetics of cerium oxidation were investigated in acidic chloride
solutions. The leach solutions in REE processes contain a large mixture of rare earths in
trivalent form. Part two of this study investigates the ability of this process to separate cerium …