The invention relates to a technology for producing a
scandium-containing concentrate from
alumina production waste and obtaining a high-purity
scandium oxide. The method comprises leaching
red mud with a solution containing a mixture of
sodium carbonate and
sodium bicarbonate, absorbing
scandium from the solution on a
phosphorus-containing
ion exchanger, and desorbing the scandium with a
sodium carbonate solution to obtain commercial-grade reclaimed scandium, from which scandium concentrate is precipitated. Said concentrate contains no less than 15
mass% SC2O3, no more than 3
mass% TiO2, andno more than 15
mass% ZrO2, and the scandium in the concentrate is in the form of a mixture of the
hydroxide Sc(OH)3 and the basic salt ScOHCO3*4H2O. A method is also proposed that comprises dissolving a scandium-containing concentrate in
sulfuric acid, removing the acid-insoluble precipitate, transforming the scandium into a precipitate, filtering, washing,
drying, and
sintering to obtain a
scandium oxide precipitate. After the acid-insoluble scandium precipitate is removed, the scandium is precipitated from the filtrate, removed by
filtration, and washed, the binary salt is dissolved in water, and scandium
hydroxide is precipitated with caustic soda. The cake is then transformed into scandium
oxalate, removed by
filtration, and washed with water, and the scandium
oxalate is calcined to obtain
scandium oxide with a purity approaching 99 mass%.