Pyrometallurgical Treatment of Apatite Concentrate with the Objective of Rare Earth Element Recovery: Part II

Apatite, Ca5(PO4)3F, is a useful raw material for the production of both elemental phosphorus and phosphoric acid, and the mine tailings present at Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara AB (LKAB) in Kiruna, Sweden, represent a significant potential European source of apatite if upgraded to a concentrate. In the present study, pilot apatite concentrate made from the LKAB tailings has been pyrometallurgically treated using carbon to extract phosphorus without fluxing at temperatures exceeding 1800 °C, with the ultimate objective of recovery of rare earth elements (REEs) from the resulting slag/residue phases. Experimental behavior has been modeled using equilibrium thermodynamic predictions performed using HSC®. A process is proposed, and mass–energy balance presented, for the simultaneous production of P4 and CaC2 (ultimately for acetylene, C2H2, and PVC production) from apatite, producing a lime residue significantly enriched in REEs. Possible implications to kiln-based processing of apatite are also discussed

Continuous Flow Organophosphorus Chemistry

With applications ranging from common laboratory reagents to agrochemical blockbusters, organophosphorus compounds are central to organic chemistry. Flow chemistry and related technologies have opened new perspectives in the many areas of organic chemistry, from methodology to total synthesis in R&D and production, regardless of the final potential industrial application. This review gives an overview of the most recent and significant advances in continuous flow organophosphorus chemistry

Sustainable Phosphorus Chemistry: A Silylphosphide Synthon for the Generation of Value‐Added Phosphorus Chemicals

Avoiding white phosphorus: Cummins and Geeson have recently described the conversion of phosphoric acid into the novel bis(trichlorosilyl)phosphide anion (see picture), which serves as a key intermediate in the synthesis of organophosphines, hexafluorophosphate, and phosphine gas in a reaction sequence that does not rely on white phosphorus

Progress Toward Sustainable Reversible Deactivation Radical Polymerization

peer reviewedThe recent focus of media and governments on renewability, green chemistry, and circular economy has led to a surge in the synthesis of renewable monomers and polymers. In this review, focussing on renewable monomers for reversible deactivation radical polymerizations (RDRP), it is highlighted that for the majority of the monomers and polymers reported, the claim to renewability is not always accurate. By closely examining the sustainability of synthetic routes and the renewability of starting materials, fully renewable monomers are identified and discussed in terms of sustainability, polymerization behavior, and properties obtained after polymerization. The holistic discussion considering the overall preparation process of polymers, that is, monomer syntheses, origin of starting materials, solvents used, the type of RDRP technique utilized, and the purification method, allows to highlight certain topics which need to be addressed in order to progress toward not only (partially) renewable, but sustainable monomers and polymers using RDRPs