Determination of metal fractions and rare earth anomalies in red mud: the case of bauxite mining district of Seydişehir (Turkey)

Abstract

A three-step sequential extraction was carried out by modified BCR approach for fractionation of metals, including rare earths in red mud. Acetic acid leaching, hydroxylamine hydrochloride + nitric acid leaching, hydrogen peroxide + acid ammonium acetate leaching, and orthophosphoric + nitric acid digestion in microwave were performed to determine ion exchangeable (F1), reducible (F2), oxidizable (F3), and residual (F4) fractions of metals, respectively. Accordingly, the highest readily soluble phases were obtained for Ca, Na, and K, while the reducible were Al, Zn, Cu, and Li. Rare earth elements (REEs) except for Eu were mostly identified in residual fraction. Most of Eu (88.7%) was detected in the reducible fraction, while the negligible part in residual. Chondrite normalization was implemented for obtaining REE anomalies. The remarkable Eu and Gd negative anomaly differences were determined between the red mud and its origin, Mortas bauxite. The LREE to HREE ratio and LaN/YbN scores of 8.42 and 7.82, respectively indicated the LREE enrichment to HREE. By performing multivariate analysis, six and five-group clusters were obtained for REEs and non-REE metals in terms of fractional distribution, proving the easier release potential of Eu, La, Gd, K, Na, and Ca.