(527f) Recycling of Nimh Batteries and Recovery of Rare Earth Elements Using ETS-10 Titanosilicate

Recovery of rare earth elements (REEs) is necessary in order to maintain a sustainable supply for future green energy applications. Magnets, lamps and NiMH batteries are some of the key sources containing a large amount of recyclable REEs. In the current work we explore the adsorption of critical REE cations via ion exchange on ETS-10 titanosilicate. ETS-10 is a three-dimensional solid framework material containing ordered -O-Ti-O-Ti- chains which generate negative charge necessary for cation exchange. Batch experiments in acidic aqueous solutions prove that ETS-10 is a promising material for this application and that it has high equilibrium adsorption capacity for REE cations. We further also explore the competitive separation of divalent Ni²⁺ cations from trivalent Nd³⁺ cations usually found in aqueous solutions generated during recycling of NiMH batteries. Based on these preliminary results we believe ETS-10 can be used to fabricate inorganic ion exchange membranes for continuous separation and recycling of REE cations.