Study of the recovery of rare earth elements from computer monitor scraps – Leaching experiments

This paper describes the study of the coating powder leaching from computer monitors scraps with the view to obtain a liquor which can be treated by hydrometallurgical techniques to purify the metals studied. The technological development observed in recent years has stimulated the application of rare earth (RE) elements. TV tubes and computer monitors present as coating a powder containing some rare earth elements, mainly europium and yttrium. The recovery of the RE elements from electronics scraps is extremely important as the economic and environmental issues are concerned. The results of this study indicated the technical viability of the recovery of the metals. After the leaching process optimization, the europium and yttrium recovery was over 97% and a liquor containing 16.5 g/L Y, 0.55 g/L Eu, 59.0 g/L Zn, 0.20 g/L Fe, 131 g/L SO42-, 0.20 g/L Ca and 2.50 g/L Al was obtained.