Production of pure tantalum and niobium oxides by hydrometallurgical processing of coltan smelter cake from Tanganyika Province/RD Congo using NH4HF2-KOH flux system

Pure tantalum and niobium oxides were produced from the molten cake after mixing oreNH4HF2-KOH in a respective mass ratio of 1/4/3. This resulted in solubilization yields of over 95% for Nb and around 92% for Ta in sulfuric acid solution 3 molar. Extraction of tantalum and niobium using octan-2-ol yielded over 95% niobium and 98% tantalum when pH is set at 0.5-1.0 and 1.5-2 respectively. The compounds K3NbOF6, K3NbO4 and K2TaF7 were identified after melting. While in aqueous solution ionic species such as NbF6 (OH) 23-, NbF6- and TaF72- are likely to be identified. Precipitation of tantalum and niobium in NH4OH solution (pH=7.50-8.0) as hydrated oxides after stripping with distilled water and crystallization identified hydrated oxides such as Ta2O5.nH2O, Nb2O5.nH2O. These two oxides were associated with a small amount of SiO2.nH2O as an impurity resulting from the extraction and precipitation of tantalum and niobium. SEM-EDS, XRD, TGA-DTG and FTIR analyses identified and characterized these compounds.

---

Opracowanie rekordu ze środków MNiSW, umowa nr POPUL/SP/0154/2024/02 w ramach programu "Społeczna odpowiedzialność nauki II" - moduł: Popularyzacja nauki (2025).