Microwave-assisted atmospheric alkaline leaching process and leaching kinetics of rare earth melt electrolysis slag.

This study focuses on the difficulty of converting fluorinated rare earth elements into hydroxylated rare earth elements in rare earth melt electrolysis slag (RMES) and proposes the use of a microwave-assisted atmospheric alkaline leaching method for the treatment of RMES. The leaching behavior of RMES under microwave-assisted atmospheric alkaline leaching was studied, and the optimal reaction conditions were determined. Under the conditions of a reaction temperature of 150 °C, initial NaOH concentration of 60 %, NaOH-to-slag mass ratio of 4:1, microwave power of 700 W, reaction time of 120 min, and stirring speed of 300 r/min, the conversion rate of fluorinated rare earths reached 99.