Chemical Engineering October 2010 - 18

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often not concentrated enough to allow
economically viable extraction.
REEs are nominally divided into
light and heavy rare earths, according
to atomic number. Light rare earths,
such as lanthanum and cerium, are
more common than heavy rare earths,
which make up 1 to 20% of the total
rare earths in most known deposits,
and may be more prone
to shortage. Most REEs are
found in varying concentrations
together in deposits of
the mineral bastnäsite, which
is mined as a primary mineral.
Other rare-earth material can
be found in the mineral monazite,
which is typically located
FIGURE 2. REEs have unique properties, which
greatly complicates efforts to find alternatives in
end-use products
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in deposits of other ores and is recovered
as a byproduct of uranium and
niobium processing. Since various rareearth
oxides are often found together,
separating them is a major challenge.
REEs have found widespread use in
high-technology products because of
their unique atomic properties, which
make replacing them with alternatives
difficult (Table 1; Figure 2).
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REEs is in permanent magnets, which
appear in products such as hybrid vehicles,
wind turbines and computer hard
drives. The strongest permanent magnet
is made from alloys of neodymium,
iron and boron (NdFeB magnet).
Research and development projects
involving such magnets are prominent
at the U.S. Dept. of Energy's Ames Laboratory
(Ames, Iowa; www.ameslab.gov),
one of the few places outside China
where basic research related to rare
earth metals is carried out. One project
ongoing there is led by renowned rareearth
expert Karl Gschneidner, whose
group has developed an improved process
for making NdFeB magnets (Figure
1). The new environmentally friendly
process eliminates waste and reduces
energy consumption in producing the
magnets by 40-50%. The researchers
found a way to eliminate a step from the
conventional process in the transformation
of neodymium oxide to Nd master
alloy. The strategy behind the singlestep
process may be applied to other
areas, such as producing lanthanum
master alloy for nickel-metal-hydride
batteries for electric vehicles.
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Chemical Engineering October 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chemical Engineering October 2010
