Industrial Applications of Rare Earth Elements

291 Pages·1981·7.38 MB·English

by  Karl A. Gschneidner, Jr. (Eds.)

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81- Industrial Applications
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In Industrial Applications of Rare Earth Elements; Gschneidner, K.;
ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1981.
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In Industrial Applications of Rare Earth Elements; Gschneidner, K.;
ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1981.
Industrial Applications
of Rare Earth Elements
Karl A. Gschneidner, Jr., EDITOR,
Iowa State University
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1- Based on a symposium
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164
ACS SYMPOSIUM SERIES
AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY
WASHINGTON, D. C. 1981
In Industrial Applications of Rare Earth Elements; Gschneidner, K.;
ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1981.
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1/ Industrial applications of rare earth elements.
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0 (ACS symposium series 164; ISSN 0097-6156)
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10. Includes bibliographies and index.
oi: 1. Rare earth metals—Congresses.
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81 | cietIy. . GDscihvniseiiodnne orf, KInardlu sAtr.i aIlI a. nAdm Eenrigciannee Crihnegm Cichaelm Sios
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1 try. III. Chemical Congress of the North American
3, Continent (2nd: 1981: Las Vegas, Nevada). IV Series.
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b TA480.R3I5 621.1'89291 81-10875
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e ISBN 0-8412-0641-4 AACR2
pt ACSMC8 164 1-297 1981
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PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
In Industrial Applications of Rare Earth Elements; Gschneidner, K.;
ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1981.
ACS Symposium Series
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W. Jeffrey Howe Davis L. Temple, Jr.
James D. Idol, Jr. Gunter Zweig
In Industrial Applications of Rare Earth Elements; Gschneidner, K.;
ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1981.
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64.f FOREWORD
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19 The ACS SYMPOSIUM SERIES was founded in 1974 to provide
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9 viewed under the supervision of the Editors with the assistance
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In Industrial Applications of Rare Earth Elements; Gschneidner, K.;
ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1981.
PREFACE
For the last twenty years conferences concerning rare earth materials
have been held in the U.S.A. every 18 to 24 months. In general these
conferences have dealt with the science of these materials, and only one
or two sessions (~10% of the papers) were concerned with industrial
and commercial aspects. This is also true for rare earth conferences held
01 in other countries with one exception—the 1972 NATO Conference on
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pr Analysis and Applications of Rare Earth Materials, in which about half
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16 of the papers dealt with their uses. The rapid and continued growth of
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1- rare earth markets in the last two decades—10 to 15% per year—sug
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1 gested that an exclusive conference would be of considerable interest not
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1/b only to the worldwide rare earth community but also to many scientists,
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0 engineers, and technical business managers in other industries and tech
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10. nologies that may have an interest in, or possible future applications
oi: involving the rare earths. The symposium that formed the basis of this
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19 aspects of the rare earths.
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er The industrial applications of the rare earths can be divided into two
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m categories—uses that involve the mixed rare earths in proportion to their
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pt occurrence in their ores or in concentrates (not exceeding 90% of any
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e: one rare earth element), and uses that involve the separated individual
Dat rare earth elements (> 90% pure). Of the total volume of rare earths
on consumed about 95% is in the form of mixed rare earths or concentrates,
cati but in monetary terms the contribution by both categories is about equal.
bli
u The mixed rare earths are used as additives to improve the properties
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of steel and ductile iron by removing the tramp elements and modifying
the morphology of the metal product. The other major use is the addition
of rare earths to zeolite cracking catalysts to improve the efficiency of
gasoline refining processes. Other miscellaneous uses of the mixed ele
ments are: lighter flints, alloy additives to nonferrous metals, carbon
arc-cores for lighting, and glass polishing materials. Chemical concen
trates, which contain up to approximately 90% of one rare earth element,
are primarily used in the glass and ceramic markets, for example, Ce0
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as polishing compounds and for decolorizing glass, La0 in glasses to
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increase the index of refraction (e.g., camera lenses), Ce0, Nd0, and
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PrOn for coloring glasses and ceramic tiles, and in temperature com
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pensated capacitors.
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In Industrial Applications of Rare Earth Elements; Gschneidner, K.;
ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1981.
The individual separated rare earth elements (chemical purities rang
ing from 95% to 99.999%) are used in advanced technological applica
tions. These so-called exciting and glamorous uses include: phosphors
for cathode ray tubes, color television, fluorescent lighting, and x-ray
intensifying screens; magnetic bubble devices for computer data storage;
microwave devices; the strongest known permanent magnets; hydrogen
storage materials; oxygen and carbon sensors; electrooptical devices and
lasers; control rods and burnable poisons for nuclear reactors; glass addi
tives as decolorizing agents and also to impart color; simulated diamonds;
and as alloying agents to improve the properties of high temperature
oxidation/corrosion resistant alloys.
1 The book is divided into three sections based on the nature of the
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pr rare earth application: metallurgical uses of the mixed rare earths; mixed
64. rare earths in nonmetals; and individual rare earth element uses. The
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1- first section contains three chapters including an overview of the rare
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9 earth industry as developed from a historical perspective. The second
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bk- section contains four chapters that deal with the use in the glass, glass
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2 polishing, and catalyst industries. The last section contains nine chapters
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0. covering a wide range of topics, including an overview of the industrial
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oi: methods of separating the rare earth elements, three chapters on phos
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9 The authors of the chapters were asked to include the following
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3, information whenever possible: the description of the use or application;
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b the scientific basis for the use; market size—current and future; com
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pte petitive advantage of the rare earths; and competition from other markets.
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on The editor would like to acknowledge several friends in the rare earth
cati industry for suggesting topics and potential authors. These are: G. A.
ubli Barlow (Union Molycorp), J. G. Cannon (Union Molycorp), I. S. Hirsch-
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horn (Ronson Metals Corporation), W. A. Otis (Ronson Metals Corpora
tion), and O. A. Wunderlich (Davison Specialty Chemical Company,
W. R. Grace and Company). The efforts of the four Session Chairmen,
I. S. Hirschhorn (Ronson Metals Corporation), J. R. Long (Aldrich
Chemical Company, Incorporated), M. Tecotzky (United States Radium
Corporation), and J. W. Cunningham (Research Chemicals, NUCOR
Corporation), who kept the symposium running smoothly and on schedule
were appreciated by the speakers and attendees. Particular thanks go to
J. E. McEvoy (Councilor), W. N. Smith (Program Chairman), and R. A.
Stowe (Program Secretary) of the Division of Industrial and Engineering
Chemistry of the American Chemical Society who helped the editor in
organizing this symposium. The editor appreciates the assistance of the
sixteen unnamed persons who refereed the papers published in this volume.
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In Industrial Applications of Rare Earth Elements; Gschneidner, K.;
ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1981.
An acknowledgment is also due to the ACS Books Department for their
guidance in getting this volume ready for publication—with special thanks
to S. B. Roethel (Acquisitions Editor) and her secretary, A. Drexler.
Finally the kind and wonderful assistance of the editor's staff and col
leagues (C. J. Catus and B. L. Evans [Rare-Earth Information Center],
and O. D. McMasters [Ames Laboratory]), and especially that of his
secretary, L. M. McVicker, is deeply appreciated.
KARL A. GSCHNEIDNER, JR.
Iowa State University
Ames, Iowa 50011
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xi
In Industrial Applications of Rare Earth Elements; Gschneidner, K.;
ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1981.
1
History of Rare Earth Applications, Rare Earth
Market Today
Overview
E. GREINACHER
1 Th. Goldschmidt AG, Goldschmidtstrasse 100, 4300 Essen 1, West Germany
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1-0 About 25 000 tons of RE Metals - calculated as oxide - are
8 currently consumed in the world per year. This quantity is di
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1/b bring a certain systemization into this variety, these appli
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0 cations and possible applications have been reviewed from 3
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0. different aspects: from a historic development, from the special
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oi: properties of the rare earths and from the degree of separation
81 | d oefa rtthhe meitnadli vsiedruiaels e.l ements or group of elements of the rare
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1 The individual applications will be present in more detail
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pte History of the Applications of Rare Earth Elements
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e: The history of the rare earth elements begins in 1788 in
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on the present day into 4 periods of application of the rare earths.
cati First Period:
bli 1788 - 1891 is the preliminary period in which the rare earth
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cally used.
Second Period:
1891 - 1930 is the period of first industrial usage of the
mixed or simply separated rare earth elements.
Third period:
1930 - 1960 is the start of the wide usage of the properties of
the rare earth elements, wherein the period from 1940 - 1960 is
distinguished by the systematic discovery of properties, of
methods of separation and of usage of the rare earth elements
as the by-product of the various atomic research programs in the
industrial countries, foremost among which were in the USA and
England.
0097-6156/81/0164-0003$05.00/0
© 1981 American Chemical Society
In Industrial Applications of Rare Earth Elements; Gschneidner, K.;
ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1981.