Targeted extraction of rare earth elements, yttrium and radium from mineralogically characterized phosphogypsum

A method for extraction of rare earth elements (REE), yttrium (Y), and/or radium (Ra) from phosphogypsum, the method comprising:

• i) treating the phosphogypsum with an acidic aqueous medium in a reactor at a liquid:solid (L:S) ratio of no more than 15:1 to give a first solution comprising dissolved gypsum and to leave behind a gypsum residue;
• ii) performing a chemical extraction step on the first solution to remove at least one anion and/or at least one cation and give a second solution comprising dissolved gypsum, the second solution being undersaturated in the at least one anion and/or the at least one cation compared to the first solution;
• iii) treating the gypsum residue with the second solution to extract more of the at least one anion and/or at least one cation from the gypsum residue;
• iv) performing the chemical extraction step on the second solution after step iii) to remove the at least one anion and/or the at least one cation, the second solution after this chemical extraction being undersaturated in the at least one anion and/or the at least one cation compared to the second solution before this chemical extraction step;
• v) repeating steps iii) and iv) a plurality of times to give a final gypsum residue and a third solution comprising REE, Y, and/or Ra;
• and
• vi) precipitating REE and/or Y from the third solution,
• wherein the chemical extraction step comprises at least one of ion exchange chromatography and solvent extraction.