Rare earth recovery from fluorescent material and associated method

US8137645B2 · kind B2 · utility

Assignee

• General Electric Company · US

Inventors

• Digamber Gurudas Porob · Savanuru, IN
• Alok Mani Srivastava · San Francisco, US
• Prasanth Kumar Nammalwar · Savanuru, IN
• Gopi Chandran Ramachandran · Savanuru, IN
• Holly Ann Comanzo · Niskayuna, US

Key dates

• Filing date: Feb 23, 2010
• Grant date: Mar 20, 2012
• Expiry date: Feb 23, 2030

Classification

• Technology area (CPC Y): Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
• CPC primary: Y02W30/82
• WIPO field: Basic materials chemistry
• WIPO sector: Chemistry

Abstract

A method of recovering a rare earth constituent from a phosphor is presented. The method can include a number of steps (a) to (d). In step (a), the phosphor is fired with an alkali material under conditions sufficient to decompose the phosphor into a mixture of oxides. A residue containing rare earth oxides is extracted from the mixture in step (b). In step (c), the residue is treated to obtain a solution, which comprises rare earth constituents in salt form. Rare earth constituents are separated from the solution in step (d).