Physicochemical analysis and sequential extraction of rare earth elements from Malaysian ion-adsorption clays

Abstract The growing demand for Rare Earth Elements (REEs) has spurred the search for new sources, including ion adsorption clays. This research focused on characterizing ion-adsorption clay minerals and sequentially extracting samples from Kelantan, Malaysia, to assess their potential for REE extraction. Techniques such as XRF, XRD, and ICP-MS were used to analyze the samples, which primarily consisted of Si, Al and Na. XRD results indicated that kaolinite and quartz were the main components of ion adsorption clay. Sequential extraction revealed that most REEs were in the ion exchangeable fraction, with lanthanum, cerium, and neodymium showing higher concentrations. This study advances REE extraction methods and lays the groundwork for future research