Methods and apparatus for production of rare earth elements from coal and clay ores

Abstract

A method of separating a rare earth element from coal and clay ores includes subjecting a raw coal to a liquefaction process to form a pitch or a pitch resin and filtering the pitch or pitch resin to capture the rare earth element. The method further includes refining the pitch or pitch resin to produce a mesophase pitch. The method also includes subjecting the mesophase pitch or pitch resin to a low-crystallinity spinning process to form a carbon fiber.

1 . A method of separating a rare earth element from coal and clay ores, comprising:
 subjecting a raw coal to a liquefaction process to form a pitch or a pitch resin;   refining the pitch or pitch resin to produce a mesophase pitch;   subjecting the mesophase pitch or pitch resin to a low-crystallinity spinning process to form a carbon fiber; and   attaching a binding protein to the carbon fiber configured to bind or electrostatically interact with the rare earth element.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the rare earth element comprises at least one of gallium, germanium, cerium, lanthanum, neodymium, praseodymium, scandium, yttrium, dysprosium, terbium, samarium, ytterbium, europium, promethium, gadolinium, holmium, lutetium, thulium, or erbium. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the pitch or pitch resin comprises an isotropic pitch. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the binding protein comprises Lanmodulin. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising rehydrating the pitch or pitch resin to between about 6% and about 8% moisture. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising sorting the rare earth element as either a heavy rare earth element or a light rare earth element. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising modifying the carbon fiber to block non-specific binding sites on the binding protein with a blocking agent. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the blocking agent comprises an in-situ hybridization blocker. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the blocking agent comprises powdered milk, hydrolyzed milk proteins, hydrolyzed bovine serum albumin, sheared salmon sperm, or a combination thereof. 
     
     
         10 . A method of extracting a rare earth element from a coal deposit utilizing a protein to capture the rare earth element, comprising:
 forming a solution comprising a rare earth element and a protein configured to capture the rare earth element in a specific binding site, the protein expressed on a carrier;   capturing the rare earth element in the binding site of the protein; and   blocking non-specific binding sites on the binding protein with a blocking agent.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the carrier comprises at least one of a bacterium, yeast, a mammalian cell, and a virus. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the bacterium is freeze-dried and rehydrated in the solution. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the carrier further comprises a carbon monolith having a coal-based activated carbon fiber. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the solution comprises a first solution and the method further comprises forming a second solution comprising the rare earth element and a second protein configured to capture the rare earth element in a specific binding site. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 10 , further comprising:
 breaking up the protein into a fragment display library; and   selecting from the library a protein that binds a predetermined rare earth element.   
     
     
         16 . A system to extract a rare earth element from a coal deposit, comprising:
 a carbon monolith apparatus comprising:
 a first chamber comprising at least one carbon monolith; and 
 a second chamber comprising at least one carbon monolith; 
   wherein the first chamber is configured to receive a feed of a coal-based pitch with at least one rare earth element therein;   wherein each of the carbon monolith of the apparatus comprises a binding protein expressed on a carrier attached to a coal-based activated carbon fiber configured to capture the rare earth element.   
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the carrier comprises at least one of a bacterium, yeast, a mammalian cell, and a virus. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the first chamber and the second chamber operate in a cyclical fashion to perform continuous capture and release of rare earth elements such that capture occurs in one of the first chamber and the second chamber while release occurs in the other of the first chamber and the second chamber. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein each carbon monolith is functionalized to adsorb a specific rare earth element. 
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein each carbon monolith is modified to block non-specific binding sites on the binding protein with a blocking agent.