Rare Earth Metal Production by Semi-Continuous Calciothermal Reduction

Jironvil, Jonathan

Student Work

Rare Earth Metal Production by Semi-Continuous Calciothermal Reduction

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Rare Earth elements are essential for the production of magnets, electronics, optical and laser materials. These materials are not only found in everyday product but are strategically important for the US government defense system. One of the most important of these elements is neodymium, which has been used as a key component in a widespread of applications. Commercial grade purity neodymium is produced by three main methods; electrolysis using fluoride salts, electrolysis using chloride salts, and calciothermic reduction. In this project, Terves LLC, in collaboration with WPI and Ames Laboratory focuses on developing a semi-continuous process capable of producing 99.9% purity neodymium. The process starts by converting neodymium oxide into neodymium chloride followed by calciothermic reduction in magnesium to produce a master alloy at 700°C. The alloy is purified through vacuum distillation to produce pure neodymium. The thermodynamic modeling for the calciothermic reduction was the main focus for the WPI, while the Terves team was responsible for carrying out the experiments and potential scaling up process. Ames Laboratory has been doing the purification and characterization of the master alloy obtained from Terves’ experiments. Initial experiments have yielded 60 wt% of the desired purity of neodymium.

This report represents the work of one or more WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review.

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