The novel extraction process based on CYANEX® 572 for separating heavy rare earths from ion-adsorbed deposit

•Process for heavy rare-earth elements (REEs) separation from ion-adsorbed deposit using CYANEX 572 has been first developed.•Lu can be purified from heavy REEs feed using 2.75 mol/L HCl as scrubbing regent.•Lu and Yb also can be extracted from heavy REEs feed using 1.8 mol/L HCl as scrubbing reagent.•99% stripping efficiency can be reached by only 3.5 mol/L HCl as the stripping reagent.•Organic phase composed of CYANEX 572 was stable in the extraction process.

The extraction and separation of heavy rare earths from ion-adsorbed rare earth deposit using CYANEX® 572 were first investigated. The comparison of selectivities for heavy rare earth ions reveals that CYANEX® 572 is more effective than common industrial extractant P507, especially for the enrichments of Tm, Yb, and Lu. Considering the lower acid requirement and higher stripping efficiency of CYANEX® 572, the novel extractant CYANEX® 572 has revealed industrial application values for the separation of heavy rare earths from ion-adsorbed deposit.

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