IChemE’s Magazine Reports Rare Earths Extraction Done by Prof. SUN's Group----Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter Chinese Academy of Sciences

Rare earth elements (REEs) are critical materials in many cutting-edge technology products, the economic impact of the growing scarcity of middle and heavy REEs has resulted in the US, Japan and the EU addressing their strategic positions. The most widely used industrial extractants in China for REEs separation are P507 and naphthenic acid, the traditional extractants have been used for more than 30 years. To control the serious environmental pollution in REEs separation industry, a number of new regulations have been issued from 2011 to 2014 by the State Council of the People’s Republic of China, the China Ministry of Environmental Protection, and the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The R&D in sustainable and efficient REEs separation technology has aroused worldwide attention. Very recently, a feature story titled ‘Rare earths extraction: better by design’ has been reported by IChemE’s tce magazine. Prof. SUN Xiaoqi from Chinese Academy of Sciences introduced their novel REEs separation methods based on ionic liquids. The interesting research reveals significance on the fields of resource, environment and nuclear power.

In the past five years, their 18 contributions were published in internationally influential academic journals, such as Chemical Reviews and AIChE Journal. Prof. SUN was awarded ‘Highly Commended in the Sustainable Technology Award at the 2014 IChemE Global Awards’. The research achievements have brought important international influence. At present, the pioneering research on REEs separation at Xiamen Institute of Rare Earth Materials, Haixi Institutes, Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS) is transferring from applied basic research to industrial application.