Patent Publication Number: US-2022219139-A1

Title: Adsorbent particles, method for producing adsorbent particles, base material particles, filling column and method for recovering rare earth element

Description:
TECHNICAL FIELD 
     The present invention relates to adsorbent particles, a method for producing adsorbent particles, base material particles, a packed column, and a method for recovering a rare earth element. 
     BACKGROUND ART 
     As an adsorbent that selectively adsorbs and desorbs a rare earth element, materials obtained by introducing diglycolic acid onto the surface of various particles have been proposed (Patent Literature 1, Non Patent Literatures 1 and 2). 
     CITATION LIST 
     Patent Literature 
     Patent Literature 1: Japanese Patent No. 6103611 
     Non Patent Literature 
     Non Patent Literature 1: Takeshi Ogata, Hydrometallurgy, 152 (2015) 178-182 
     Non Patent Literature 2: Tomohiro Shinozaki, Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., 57 (2018) 11424-11 
     SUMMARY OF INVENTION 
     Technical Problem 
     According to an aspect of the present invention, there are provided adsorbent particles which have a large adsorption amount of a rare earth element and from which the adsorbed rare earth element can be desorbed at a high proportion. 
     Solution to Problem 
     An aspect of the present invention relates to adsorbent particles each comprising: a carrier particle containing an organic polymer; an amino group-containing polymer adhered to the surface of the carrier particle and including a constituent unit having an amino group; and a diglycolic acid residue bonded to the amino group of the amino group-containing polymer. 
     Another aspect of the present invention relates to a method for producing adsorbent particles, the method comprising: preparing base material particles each including a carrier particle containing an organic polymer, and an amino group-containing polymer having an amino group adhered to the surface of the carrier particle; and causing diglycolic acid or an anhydride thereof to bonded to the amino group of the amino group-containing polymer and thereby form the adsorbent particles. 
     Still another aspect of the present invention relates to base material particles each comprising: a carrier particle containing an organic polymer; and an amino group-containing polymer adhered to a surface of the carrier particle and including a constituent unit having an amino group. 
     Still another aspect of the present invention relates to a packed column comprising a column tube; and the above-described adsorbent particles packed in the column tube. 
     Still another aspect of the present invention relates to a method for recovering a rare earth element, the method comprising: bringing a solution containing a rare earth element into contact with the above-described adsorbent particles and thereby causing the rare earth element to be adsorbed to the adsorbent particles; and causing the rare earth element to be desorbed from the adsorbent particles by contacting with an acidic solution containing an acid. 
     Advantageous Effects of Invention 
     According to an aspect of the present invention, there are provided adsorbent particles which have a large adsorption amount of a rare earth element and from which the adsorbed rare earth element can be desorbed at a high proportion. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of a packed column. 
         FIG. 2  is a graph showing the adsorption amount and the desorption amount of dysprosium provided by adsorbent particles. 
         FIG. 3  is a graph showing the recovery rate of dysprosium provided by adsorbent particles. 
     
    
    
     DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS 
     Hereinafter, several embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail. However, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the following embodiments. 
     Adsorbent particles according to an embodiment each include a carrier particle containing an organic polymer; an amino group-containing polymer adhered to a surface of the carrier particle; and a diglycolic acid residue bonded to the amino group of the amino group-containing polymer. 
     The carrier particle is a polymer particle containing an organic polymer as a main component. The organic polymer may be crosslinked. The proportion of the organic polymer in the carrier particle may be 50% to 100% by mass, 60% to 100% by mass, 70% to 100% by mass, 80% to 100% by mass, or 90% to 100% by mass. 
     The organic polymer may be a polymer including a crosslinkable monomer as a monomer unit. The crosslinkable monomer may be, for example, a divinyl compound such as divinylbenzene, divinylbiphenyl, divinylnaphthalene, or divinylphenanthrene. These crosslinkable monomers may be used singly, or two or more kinds thereof may be used in combination. From the viewpoints of durability, acid resistance, and alkalinity, the crosslinkable monomer may be divinylbenzene, which is a styrene-based monomer. The proportion of the monomer unit derived from a crosslinkable monomer in the organic polymer may be 1 mol % to 80 mol %, 1 mol % to 60 mol %, or 1 mol % to 40 mol %, with respect to the entirety of the monomer units constituting the organic polymer. 
     The organic polymer may be a copolymer of a crosslinkable monomer and a monofunctional monomer. Examples of the monofunctional monomer include styrene-based monomers (styrene and styrene derivatives) such as styrene, o-methylstyrene, m-methylstyrene, p-methylstyrene, α-methylstyrene, o-ethylstyrene, m-ethylstyrene, p-ethylstyrene, 2,4-dimethylstyrene, p-n-butylstyrene, p-t-butylstyrene, p-n-hexylstyrene, p-n-octylstyrene, p-n-nonylstyrene, p-n-decylstyrene, p-n-dodecylstyrene, p-methoxystyrene, p-phenylstyrene, p-chlorostyrene, and 3,4-dichlorostyrene. These may be used singly, or two or more kinds thereof may be used in combination. From the viewpoints of acid resistance and alkali resistance, the monofunctional monomer may be styrene. 
     The organic polymer may include a monomer having a reactive group that reacts with an amino group, as a monomer unit, and the organic polymer may be a copolymer including a crosslinkable monomer and a monomer having a reactive group as monomer units. The reactive group may be, for example, an epoxy group, a chloro group, or a combination of these. Examples of the monomer having an epoxy group include glycidyl methacrylate. Examples of the monomer having a chloro group include 4-chloromethylstyrene. The proportion of the monomer unit derived from a monomer having a reactive group in the organic polymer may be 15 mol % to 80 mol %, 15 mol % to 65 mol %, 30 mol % to 80 mol %, or 30 mol % to 65 mol %, with respect to the entirety of the monomer units constituting the organic polymer. 
     The average particle size of the carrier particles may be 100 to 1000 μm, or 200 to 1000 μm. When the average particle size of the carrier particles is smaller, there is a possibility that the pressure of the packed column in which the adsorbent particles are packed may increase. Here, the average particle size of the carrier particles can be determined by the following measurement method. 
     1) Particles are dispersed in water (containing a dispersant such as a surfactant), and a dispersion liquid containing 1% by mass of the particles is prepared. 
     2) The average particle size is measured using a flow type particle image analyzer, by means of an image of about 10000 particles in the dispersion liquid. 
     The carrier particles may be porous polymer particles. In the case of porous polymer particles, the surface inside the pores is also included in the “surface of the carrier particles”. In a case where the carrier particles are porous polymer particles, the specific surface area may be 50 m 2 /g or more or may be 1000 m 2 /g or less. When the specific surface area is large, the adsorption amount of the material tends to be larger. In the present specification, the specific surface area means a value measured according to a BET method using nitrogen gas as an adsorbate. 
     The amino group-containing polymer is a polymer including a constituent unit having an amino group. The amino group-containing polymer may be a homopolymer of a monomer having an amino group. The constituent unit having an amino group may be a group formed of an amino group and an aliphatic group, or a residue of an aliphatic amino acid. Examples of the amino group-containing polymer include polyethyleneimine and polylysine. Polyethyleneimine may be branched or linear and may include three or more constituent units derived from aziridine. 
     The molecular weight of the amino group-containing polymer may be 200 or more and 10000 or less, or 7000 or less, and may be 250 or more and 10000 or less, or 7000 or less. 
     At least a part of the amino group-containing polymer adhered to the surface of a carrier particle may be bonded by covalent bonding to the organic polymer. For example, when the organic polymer has a reactive group, the amino group-containing polymer can be bonded to the organic polymer by covalent bonding as a result of a reaction between the reactive group and the amino group. 
     The ratio of the amount of the amino group-containing polymer with respect to the mass of the carrier particles may be, for example, 5% to 50% by weight, 10% to 50% by weight, 5% to 40% by weight, or 10% to 40% by weight. The amount of the amino groups in the adsorbent particles may be 0.1 to 100 mmol, 0.1 to 50 mmol, 0.5 to 100 mmol, or 0.5 to 20 mmol, per 1 g of the adsorbent particles. 
     The quantity of amino groups in the adsorbent particles or the base material particles that will be described below can be determined according to a method of measuring the amount of sulfuric acid consumed by the reaction with amino groups by titration using sodium hydroxide. The method of measuring the quantity of amino groups in the base material particles includes the following operations. 
     1) A dispersion liquid obtained by adding methanol to (A) g of base material particles is heated for 30 minutes at 75° C. 
     2) The base material particles are recovered from the dispersion liquid by suction filtration on a filter. While suctioning is continued, pure water is added to the base material particles on the filter to replace methanol with pure water, and then the base material particles are conditioned using a small amount of a 0.1 M aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide. Subsequently, the base material particles are washed with pure water until the filtrate becomes neutral. 
     3) The base material particles after washing are transferred into a glass container using a small amount of pure water. The total amount of pure water in the container is adjusted to be (B) g. 
     4) (C) g of 0.05 M sulfuric acid is added to the dispersion liquid in the container, and then the dispersion liquid in the container is stirred at room temperature for 30 minutes at 150 rpm. 
     5) (D) g of the supernatant of the dispersion liquid is isolated, and pure water is added thereto to adjust the liquid amount. 
     6) The supernatant after dilution is titrated using a 0.01 M aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide, and the amount, (E) mL, of the aqueous solution of sodium hydroxide required for neutralization is recorded. 
     7) The quantity of amino groups is calculated by the following formula. 
     
       
         
           
             
               Quantity 
               ⁢ 
               
                   
               
               ⁢ 
               of 
               ⁢ 
               
                   
               
               ⁢ 
               amino 
               ⁢ 
               
                   
               
               ⁢ 
               groups 
               ⁢ 
               
                   
               
               ⁢ 
               
                 ( 
                 
                   mmol 
                   / 
                   g 
                 
                 ) 
               
             
             = 
             
                 
               
                 
                   [ 
                   
                     
                       { 
                       
                         
                           0.1 
                           × 
                           C 
                           × 
                           
                             D 
                             / 
                             
                               ( 
                               
                                 B 
                                 + 
                                 C 
                               
                               ) 
                             
                           
                         
                         - 
                         
                           0.01 
                           × 
                           E 
                         
                       
                       } 
                     
                     × 
                     
                       
                         ( 
                         
                           B 
                           + 
                           C 
                         
                         ) 
                       
                       / 
                       D 
                     
                   
                   ] 
                 
                 / 
                 A 
               
             
           
         
       
     
     A diglycolic acid residue is, for example, a monovalent group bonded to an amino group of the amino group-containing polymer as shown in the formula below. The amino group in the formula is an amino group of the amino group-containing polymer, and the moiety excluding the amino group is the diglycolic acid residue. As the diglycolic acid residue interacts with a rare earth complex, the adsorbent particles can adsorb a rare earth element. 
     
       
         
         
             
             
         
       
     
     The adsorbent particles can be produced by, for example, a method including preparing carrier particles and base material particles that contain an amino group-containing polymer adhered to the surface of the carrier particles but do not have a diglycolic acid residue; and causing diglycolic acid or an anhydride thereof to bond to the amino group of the amino group-containing polymer and thereby forming the adsorbent particles. 
     The base material particles are produced by causing the amino group-containing polymer to adhere to the surface of the carrier particles. An example of the method of preparing base material particles in a case where the carrier particles contain an organic polymer having a reactive group, includes producing carrier particles, which are porous particles, by suspension polymerization in a reaction liquid containing a monomer component including a monomer having a reactive group, a porosifier, and an aqueous medium; and causing the amino group-containing polymer to bond to the organic polymer by a reaction between the reactive group and the amino group-containing polymer. 
     The porosifier used for forming porous particles is a component that promotes phase separation of particles during polymerization and thereby forms porous polymer particles. An example of the porosifier is an organic solvent. Examples of the organic solvent that can be used as a porosifier include aliphatic or aromatic hydrocarbons, esters, ketones, ethers, and alcohols. The porosifier can include at least one selected from the group consisting of, for example, toluene, xylene, cyclohexane, octane, butyl acetate, dibutyl phthalate, methyl ethyl ketone, dibutyl ether, 1-hexanol, 2-octanol, decanol, lauryl alcohol, and cyclohexanol. 
     The amount of the porosifier may be 0% to 300% by mass with respect to the total amount of the monomer component. The porosity of the porous polymer particles can be controlled by the amount of the porosifier. The size and shape of the pores of the porous polymer particles can be controlled by the type of the porosifier. 
     The aqueous medium may contain water. This water may be used to function as a porosifier. For example, when an oil-soluble surfactant is added to the reaction liquid, particles including monomers and the oil-soluble surfactant are formed, and when these particles absorb water, it is possible to promote phase separation in the particles. By removing one phase from the particles in which phase separation has occurred, the particles are porosified. 
     The aqueous medium includes water or a mixed solvent of water and a water-soluble solvent (for example, a lower alcohol). The aqueous medium may contain a surfactant. The surfactant may be an anionic, cationic, nonionic, or amphoteric surfactant. 
     The reaction liquid for suspension polymerization may contain a polymerization initiator. Examples of the polymerization initiator include organic peroxides such as benzoyl peroxide, lauroyl peroxide, benzoyl ortho-chloroperoxide, benzoyl ortho-methoxyperoxide, 3,5,5-trimethylhexanoyl peroxide, tert-butyl peroxy-2-ethylhexanoate, and di-tert-butyl peroxide; and azo-based compounds such as 2,2′-azobisisobutyronitrile, 1,1′-azobiscyclohexanecarbonitrile, and 2,2′-azobis(2,4-dimethylvaleronitrile). The amount of the polymerization initiator may be 0.1 to 7.0 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of the monomer component. 
     In order to enhance the dispersion stability of the particles including the monomer component, the reaction liquid may contain a dispersion stabilizer. Examples of the dispersion stabilizer include polyvinyl alcohol, a polycarboxylic acid, celluloses (hydroxyethyl cellulose, carboxymethyl cellulose, methyl cellulose, and the like), and polyvinylpyrrolidone. These may be used in combination with inorganic water-soluble polymer compounds such as sodium tripolyphosphate. The dispersion stabilizer may be polyvinyl alcohol or polyvinylpyrrolidone. The amount of the dispersion stabilizer may be 1 to 10 parts by mass with respect to 100 parts by mass of the monomers. 
     The reaction liquid for suspension polymerization may contain a water-soluble polymerization inhibitor such as a nitrite, a sulfite, a hydroquinone, an ascorbic acid, a water-soluble vitamin B compound, citric acid, and a polyphenol compound. 
     The polymerization temperature for suspension polymerization can be appropriately selected depending on the types of the monomer and the polymerization initiator. The polymerization temperature may be 25° C. to 110° C., or 50° to 100° C. 
     The produced porous particles (carrier particles) are washed and dried as necessary, and then the amino groups of the amino group-containing polymer are reacted with the reactive groups of the organic polymer. This reaction can be carried out, for example, in a reaction liquid containing the carrier particles, the amino group-containing polymer, and a solvent, while heating as necessary. The solvent is not particularly limited; however, the solvent may be, for example, water. 
     The base material particles are washed and dried as necessary, and then diglycolic acid or an anhydride thereof is bonded to the amino group of the amino group-containing polymer adhered to the carrier particles. This reaction can be carried out, for example, in a reaction liquid containing the base material particles, diglycolic acid or an anhydride thereof, and a solvent, while heating as necessary. The solvent is not particularly limited; however, the solvent may be, for example, tetrahydrofuran. As a result of this reaction, adsorbent particles into which diglycolic acid residues have been introduced are formed. The formed adsorbent particles are washed and dried as necessary. 
     The base material particles containing the carrier particles and the amino group-containing polymer adhered to the surface of the carrier particles may be used in order to obtain adsorbent particles or separator material particles, into which a ligand other than a diglycolic acid residue has been introduced. The average particle size of the base material particles is usually substantially the same as the average particle size of the adsorbent particles. 
     A rare earth element can be efficiently recovered by a method including: bringing the adsorbent particles into contact with a solution containing the rare earth element to thereby cause the rare earth element to be adsorbed to the adsorbent particles; and causing the rare earth element to be desorbed from the adsorbent particles in an acidic solution containing an acid. 
     The temperatures of the solution for adsorption and the acidic solution for desorption are not particularly limited; however, the temperatures may be, for example, 15° C. to 35° C. The time for contact between the solution for adsorption and the adsorbent particles may be, for example, 20 seconds or more or 40 seconds or more, and may be 48 hours or less. The time for contact between the acidic solution for desorption and the adsorbent particles may be, for example, 5 seconds or more or 10 seconds or more, and may be 6 hours or less. 
     The recovery method of using the adsorbent particles according to the present embodiment enables the efficient recovery of a rare earth element based on the large adsorption amount by the adsorbent particles and the efficient desorption of the adsorbed rare earth element. Since the adsorbent particles according to the present embodiment have high resistance to acid as compared to adsorbent particles containing silica particles as the carrier particles, it is advantageous from the viewpoint that when used repeatedly, deterioration occurs at a reduced level. 
     The pH of the solution when a rare earth element is caused to be adsorbed to the adsorbent particles may be about 1.0 to 2.0. The acidity of the acid solution for causing the degree of acidity rare earth element to be desorbed is adjusted to an intensity of the extent that the rare earth element is appropriately desorbed. For example, the acid concentration of the acidic solution may be 2 N or less, 1 N or less, or 0.5 N or less. In the adsorbent particles according to the present embodiment, the rare earth element can be desorbed highly efficiently even in a case where an acidic solution of relatively weak acidity is used. Using an acidic solution of weak acidity is beneficial not only from the viewpoint of suppressing deterioration of the adsorbent but also from the viewpoint of reducing the environmental load. The acidic solution may be, for example, hydrochloric acid. 
     The rare earth element to be recovered may be any of scandium, yttrium, and a lanthanoid and may be a lanthanoid such as dysprosium or neodymium. The solution containing the rare earth element to be recovered may be an aqueous solution. The rare earth element in the solution is usually dissolved as a cation in the solvent (for example, water). 
     The adsorbent particles may also be used as a column packing material.  FIG. 1  is a schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of a packed column. A packed column  10  shown in  FIG. 1  includes a tubular-shaped column main body part  11 ; connection parts  12 ; and a column packing material  13  containing the adsorbent particles according to the above-described embodiment. The connection parts  12  are disposed at the both ends of the column main body part  11  in order to connect the column main body part  11  to a column chromatography apparatus. The column packing material  13  is packed in the tubular-shaped column main body part  11 . The materials of the column main body part  11  and the connection parts  12  are not particularly limited and may be stainless steel or may be a resin such as polyether ether ketone (PEEK). 
     The column packing material  13  containing the adsorbent particles is usually packed in the column main body part  11  together with a solvent. The solvent is not particularly limited as long as it is a solvent in which the adsorbent particles are dispersed; however, the solvent may be, for example, water. 
     In the case of recovering a rare earth element using a packed column, for example, a solution containing the rare earth element is passed through the packed column, and subsequently an acidic solution is passed through the packed column. 
     EXAMPLES 
     Hereinafter, the present invention will be more specifically described by way of Examples. However, the present invention is not intended to be limited to these Examples. 
     1. Production of Adsorbent Particles 
     Example 1 
     Base Material Particles 
     Porous polymer particles (specific surface area: 330 m 2 /g) formed from a divinylbenzene-glycidyl methacrylate copolymer were prepared as carrier particles. These porous polymer particles were added to methanol, and the suspension was shaken and stirred to wet the porous polymer particles with methanol. Subsequently, the suspension was filtered, while maintaining a wet state using pure water, to replace methanol with pure water. Polyethyleneimine (molecular weight: 300, amine value: 21 mmol/g) was added to the suspension containing pure water and the wetted porous polymer particles such that the amount of polyethyleneimine would make the ratio of water : polyethyleneimine be 1:2 as a mass ratio. Subsequently, a reaction between epoxy groups of the porous polymer particles and polyethyleneimine was carried out by heating the suspension at 80° C. for 8 hours. The porous polymer particles taken out by filtration were sufficiently washed with ethanol and water, and then dried for 15 hours at 80° C. to obtain base material particles having polyethyleneimine introduced therein. The average particle size of the obtained base material particles was 400 μm, and the quantity of amino groups per 1 g of the base material particles was 2.5 mmol. The specific surface area of the base material particles was estimated to be about 250 m 2 /g. 
     Adsorbent Particles 
     1.2 g of the base material particles and 5.6 g of diglycolic anhydride were reacted with each other in tetrahydrofuran at 50° C. for 8 hours. The particles taken out by filtration were sufficiently washed with ethanol and water, and then dried at 80° C. for 15 hours to obtain adsorbent particles having diglycolic acid residues introduced therein. 
     Example 2 
     Adsorbent particles having diglycolic acid residues introduced therein were obtained by an operation similar to that of Example 1, except that a polyethyleneimine having a molecular weight of 600 and an amine value of 20 mmol/g was used. The average particle size of the base material particles was 400 μm, and the quantity of amino groups per 1 g of the base material particles was 2.6 mmol. The specific surface area of the base material particles was estimated to be about 250 m 2 /g. 
     Example 3 
     Adsorbent particles having diglycolic acid residues introduced therein were obtained by an operation similar to that of Example 1, except that a polyethyleneimine having a molecular weight of 1200 and an amine value of 19 mmol/g was used. The average particle size of the base material particles was 400 μm, and the quantity of amino groups per 1 g of the base material particles was 3.5 mmol. The specific surface area of the base material particles was estimated to be about 250 m 2 /g. 
     Example 4 
     Porous polymer particles formed from the same divinylbenzene-glycidyl methacrylate copolymer as that used in Example 1 were prepared as carrier particles. These porous polymer particles were added to methanol, and the suspension was shaken and stirred to wet the porous polymer particles with methanol. Subsequently, the suspension was filtered, while maintaining a wet state using pure water, to replace methanol with pure water. Subsequently, the solvent of the suspension was replaced from pure water to an aqueous solution of polylysine (concentration: 10% by mass, molecular weight: about 5000). A reaction between epoxy groups of the porous polymer particles and polylysine was carried out by heating at 80° C. for 8 hours. The porous polymer particles taken out by filtration were sufficiently washed with ethanol and water, and then dried at 80° C. for 15 hours, to obtain base material particles having polylysine introduced therein. The average particle size of the base material particles was 400 μm, and the quantity of amino groups per 1 g of the base material particles was 3.4 mmol. The specific surface area of the base material particles was estimated to be about 250 m 2 /g. 
     Adsorbent particles having diglycolic acid residues introduced therein were obtained by an operation similar to that of Example 1, except that the obtained base material particles were used. 
     Example 5 
     Polymer particles formed from a chloromethylated styrene-divinylbenzene copolymer are prepared as carrier particles. These polymer particles are added to methanol, and the suspension is shaken and stirred to wet the porous polymer particles with methanol. Subsequently, the suspension is filtered, while maintaining a wet state using pure water, to replace methanol with pure water. Polyethyleneimine (molecular weight: 600, amine value: 20 mmol/g) is added to the suspension containing pure water and the wetted polymer particles such that the amount of polyethyleneimine would make the ratio of water : polyethyleneimine be 1:2 as a mass ratio, and subsequently a reaction between chloromethyl groups of the polymer particles and polyethyleneimine is carried out by heating the suspension at 80° C. for 8 hours. The polymer particles taken out by filtration are sufficiently washed with ethanol and water and then dried at 80° C. for 15 hours to obtain base material particles having polyethyleneimine introduced therein. Adsorbent particles having diglycolic acid residues introduced therein are obtained by an operation similar to that of Example 1, except that the obtained base material particles are used. 
     Comparative Example 1 
     Porous polymer particles formed from the same divinylbenzene-glycidyl methacrylate copolymer as that used in Example 1 were prepared as carrier particles. These porous polymer particles were added to methanol, and the suspension was shaken and stirred to wet the porous polymer particles with methanol. Subsequently, the suspension was filtered, while maintaining a wet state using pure water, to replace methanol with pure water. Subsequently, the solvent of the suspension was replaced from pure water to ethylenediamine by a similar method. A reaction between epoxy groups of the porous polymer particles and ethylenediamine was carried out by heating the suspension at 80° C. for 8 hours. The porous polymer particles taken out by filtration were sufficiently washed with ethanol and water and then dried at 80° C. for 15 hours, to obtain base material particles having ethylenediamine introduced therein. The average particle size of the base material particles was 400 μm, and the quantity of amino groups per 1 g of the base material particles was 2.4 mmol. The specific surface area of the base material particles was estimated to be about 250 m 2 /g. 
     Adsorbent particles having diglycolic acid residues introduced therein were obtained by an operation similar to that of Example 1, except that the obtained base material particles were used. The specific surface area of the adsorbent particles was 202 m 2 /g. 
     Comparative Example 2 
     Silica particles having an amino group (3-aminopropyl silica gel, manufactured by Tokyo Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.) were prepared as carrier particles. These silica particles and diglycolic anhydride were reacted with each other at 50° C. for 8 hours in tetrahydrofuran. The silica particles taken out by filtration were sufficiently washed with ethanol and water, and then dried at 80° C. for 15 hours, to obtain adsorbent particles having diglycolic acid residues introduced therein. 
     2. Evaluation 
     2-1. Adsorption Test 
     5 mL of an aqueous solution for adsorption test, which contained dysprosium (Dy) at a concentration of 160 ppm and had the pH adjusted to 1.0 or 1.3, was prepared. 50 mg of each kind of the adsorbent particles were added to this aqueous solution. The suspension containing the adsorbent particles was shaken while being maintained at 25° C. Dysprosium ions were adsorbed to the adsorbent particles by shaking for 24 hours, and then for an aqueous solution collected from the suspension, the dysprosium ion concentration in the aqueous solution was measured using an ICP emission spectrometer. From the difference between the ion concentrations obtained before and after the adsorption, the adsorption amount (μmol/g) of dysprosium ions per 1 g of the adsorbent particles was calculated. 
     2-2. Desorption Test 
     Hydrochloric acid was added to the suspension containing the adsorbent particles after completion of the adsorption test to adjust the pH of the suspension to −0.3, which was equivalent to a hydrochloric acid concentration of 2 N. The suspension with pH=−0.3 was shaken for 3 hours, while being maintained at 25° C., to desorb dysprosium ions from the adsorbent particles. For an aqueous solution collected from the suspension, the dysprosium ion concentration in the aqueous solution was measured using an ICP emission spectrometer. From the difference between the ion concentrations obtained before and after desorption, the amount of desorbed dysprosium ions (desorption amount, μmol/g) per 1 g of the adsorbent particles was calculated. 
     The amount of desorbed dysprosium ions (desorption amount) per 1 g of the adsorbent particles was determined by the same method as described above, except that the pH of the suspension for desorption was changed to 0.3, which was equivalent to a hydrochloric acid concentration of 0.5 N. 
     
       
         
           
               
               
               
             
               
                   
                 TABLE 1 
               
             
            
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 Adsorption test 
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
            
               
                   
                 Adsorption 
                   
               
               
                   
                 amount 
                 Desorption amount (μmol/g) 
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                   
                 pH 
                 (μmol/g) 
                 2N HCl 
                 0.5N HCl 
               
               
                   
                   
               
            
           
           
               
               
               
               
               
            
               
                 Example 1 
                 1.0 
                 28 
                 25 
                 25 
               
               
                   
                 1.3 
                 48 
                 46 
                 47 
               
               
                 Example 2 
                 1.0 
                 40 
                 36 
                 32 
               
               
                   
                 1.3 
                 64 
                 58 
                 59 
               
               
                 Example 3 
                 1.0 
                 54 
                 47 
                 47 
               
               
                   
                 1.3 
                 80 
                 71 
                 71 
               
               
                 Example 4 
                 1.0 
                 22 
                 18 
                 18 
               
               
                   
                 1.3 
                 44 
                 41 
                 42 
               
               
                 Comparative 
                 1.0 
                 8 
                 9 
                 8 
               
               
                 Example 1 
                 1.3 
                 19 
                 19 
                 19 
               
               
                   
               
            
           
         
       
     
     According to the results shown in Table 1, the adsorbent particles of each Example showed markedly large adsorption and desorption amounts as compared to the adsorbent particles of Comparative Example 1, in which ethylenediamine and diglycolic acid residues were introduced.  FIG. 2  is a graph showing the adsorption amount obtainable at the time of adsorbing dysprosium ions to the adsorbent particles at pH=1.3 and the desorption amount obtainable when dysprosium ions were desorbed at pH=−0.3 (2 N HCl), for the adsorbent particles of Examples and Comparative Example 1. 
       FIG. 3  is a graph showing the recovery rate, which is the proportion of the desorption amount with respect to the adsorption amount, for the adsorbent particles of Examples having dysprosium ions adsorbed thereto at pH=1.3. For a comparison,  FIG. 3  also shows the recovery rate determined by the same method as described above for the adsorbent particles of Comparative Example 2, which are silica particles having diglycolic acid residues introduced therein. It was verified that the adsorbent particles of Examples that contained particles formed from organic polymers as carrier particles were notably superior in view of the recovery efficiency by desorption, relative to the adsorbent particles of Comparative Example 2 that included silica particles as the carrier particles. 
     2-3. Acid Resistance Test 
     The adsorbent particles of each of the Examples and Comparative Example 2 were immersed in 2 N hydrochloric acid. A mixture of the adsorbent particles and hydrochloric acid was stirred for 30 days at 25° C. Subsequently, the adsorption amount of dysprosium ions by the adsorbent particles after the treatment with hydrochloric acid was measured by an operation similar to that of the above-described adsorption test. The adsorption amount of the adsorbent particles of Comparative Example 2 decreased by 10% or more from the adsorption amount before the treatment with hydrochloric acid. In contrast, in the case of the adsorbent particles of each Example, an adsorption amount close to the adsorption amount before the treatment with hydrochloric acid was maintained, and the proportion of a decrease in the adsorption amount was less than 10%. 
     REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 
       10 : packed column,  11 : column main body part,  12 : connection part,  13 : column packing material.