Synthesis of Scandium Phosphate after Peroxide Assisted Leaching of Iron Depleted Bauxite Residue (Red Mud) Slags

Anticipated future demand and limited primary sources of Sc highlight the importance of secondary Sc resources such as bauxite residue (red mud). In this study, a process route starting from red mud aiming to recover Sc as a concentrate by a combination of pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical processes was developed. Bauxite residue was treated in an electric arc furnace (EAF) for Fe removal as well as slag conditioning with varying flux additions and various cooling conditions. 95% of iron recovery to the metal was achieved. Resulting slags were subjected to identical H(2)O(2) supported H(2)SO(4) leaching conditions at 75 °C. The effect of slag mineralogy and crystallinity on the leaching efficiencies were investigated using XRD and QEMSCAN analysis. As a result of the highly amorphous nature of acidic slags, maximum of 72% Sc leaching was obtained. For leached slags, water quenched basic slag was found to be the most promising condition resulting in an extreme Sc leaching yield of 97% and this slag was selected for the further Sc precipitation. High impurity removal rates and selective Sc separation were achieved with a triple-stage successive precipitation to synthesize a Sc concentrate. Starting from EAF treatment followed by leaching and precipitation, 85% of the initial Sc in the red mud was successfully recovered as Sc phosphate.