Florencite in fly ash from the rybnik power plant (Poland)

The demand for rare earth elements (REEs) in the global economy has incentivised many researchers to search for alternative sources of those metals. For many years fly ashes have been the subject of such research, which indicate that they might be fit for REE recovery. One of the primary problems with recovering those metals from fly ashes faced by process engineers is the form in which they occur. As research shows, REEs occur in fly ashes in the glass and other mineral components (e.g. monazite, xenotime and others). Rare earth elements are usually found in the highest concentrations in constituents with higher levels of phosphorus, which has its geochemical explanation. The present paper presents the results of the analysis of chemical and mineral composition of fly ash from coal combustion in the Rybnik Power Plant (Poland) with particular focus on rare earth elements (REEs). The forms of REE occurrence were determined using scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM/EDS). During measurements a crystal was identified whose morphology and chemical composition indicate the presence of florencite in the fly ash.