Separation of rare earth elements using chelating agent-assisted electrodialysis: Phenomenological modeling and comparison with experimental data

The study presented here focuses on the development of a phenomenological model based on the Nernst-Planck equation for the separation of neodymium (Nd) and praseodymium (Pr) from a mixture containing cerium (Ce) and lanthanum (La) using chelated-assisted electrodialysis with hydroxyethylethylenediaminetriacetic acid (HEDTA) tri disodium salt as the chelating agent. This model considers solution selectivity, membrane selectivity, and ion migration within the membrane. The model is then used to study the optimal concentration of the chelating agent and pH conditions. It is demonstrated that the efficiency of the separation process could be enhanced through a multistage approach where the chelating agent concentration is maintained below the stoichiometric ratio of the elements to be masked. The model's predictive capabilities were evaluated by comparing its results with experimental data obtained at a HEDTA/Nd molar ratio of 1 and pH 3. The model showed an error of less than 26% for removal efficiency for all rare earth elements (REEs), and error values of 3% for purity and 9% for yield. These results indicate that the model can reasonably predict experimental outcomes with an acceptable level of accuracy. The developed model has the potential to be expanded for investigating chelation chemistry and electrodialysis operations involving various combinations of REEs and concentrations. It can be used to design experimental setups to study the effect of chelating agent to REE ratios and pH on key performance factors such as purity, yield, and separation factor. The versatility of the model makes it a valuable tool in the field of electrodialysis for the separation of rare earth metal ions using chelating agents.