Utilizing Recyclable Task-Specific Ionic Liquid for Selective Leaching and Refining of Scandium from Bauxite Residue.

Ionic liquids (ILs) have attracted great interest in the field of extractive metallurgy mainly because they can be utilized in low temperature leaching processes where they exhibit selectivity and recyclability. A major drawback in mixed aqueous-IL systems, is IL dissolution in the aqueous phase, which leads to IL losses, increasing the overall processing cost. This study advances the method for recovering scandium (Sc) from bauxite residue (BR) using as leaching agent the IL betainium bistriflimide, [Hbet][TfN] mixed with water, which has been reported in previous publications.