Extraction of rare earth elements from grey mud using hydrochloric acid

The Bayer process used for production of alumina is not very sustainable, with a large production of the residue red mud. The residue poses significant environmental challanges with is storage in landfills. An alternative, more sustainable production route is via the Pedersen process. This process is researched as a part of an EU-project, ensureal, with the main goal of having zero waste production of alumina in Europe. A part of this is to investigate the possibility of recovering rare earth elements (REEs) from one of the byproducts of the process, grey mud. This thesis explores the feasibility of REEs recovery from grey mud though literature, thermodynamics and experimental work. Additionaly, it forms a basis for possible further work on the topic.