Rare Earth Laser-Assisted Metal Production and Separation

Abstract

A compound or complex containing a rare earth element is impinged with a pulsed laser that is so controlled as to photochemically reduce and obtain a rare earth metal (REM). A mixture of REM salts can be impinged using laser light tuned to selectively reduce a particular rare earth-containing salt of the mixture to separate out as its respective rare earth metal.

Claims

1. A method of producing a rare earth metal, comprising impinging a rare earth element-containing material with a pulsed laser light controlled in a manner to reduce at least part of the rare earth element-containing material to yield a rare earth metal.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the rare earth element-material comprises a compound or complex containing a rare earth element.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the rare earth metal comprises at least one of La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Pr, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb and Lu.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the rare earth element-containing material comprises at least one of an oxide, hydroxide, oxalate, and halide.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the rare earth element-containing material at ambient temperature is impinged with the pulsed laser light.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the rare earth element-containing material resides in a processing chamber having sub-atmospheric pressure.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the pulsed laser light is scanned across the rare earth element-containing material.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the pulsed laser light is UV to IR light.

9. A method of producing a rare earth metal, comprising impinging a mixture of rare earth element-containing materials with a pulsed laser light whose wavelength is tuned in a manner to selectively reduce at least one of the rare earth element-containing materials of the mixture to yield a selected rare earth metal.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the selected rare earth metal comprises at least one of La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Pr, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb and Lu.

11. The method of claim 9 wherein Ce metal is selectively reduced.

12. The method of claim 9 wherein Pr metal is selectively reduced.

13. The method of claim 9 wherein Nd is selectively reduced.

14. The method of claim 9 wherein a metal alloy comprising Pr and Nd is selectively reduced.

13. The method of claim 9 wherein La is selectively reduced.

14. Apparatus for producing rare earth metal, comprising a processing chamber having at least one rare earth element-containing material therein and a pulsed laser beam to impinge the material in the processing chamber with pulsed laser light tuned to reduce the rare earth element to yield a rare earth metal.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] FIG. 1 illustrates a processing chamber designed for the application of RELAMPS.

[0014] FIGS. 2a and 2b show images of a sample after RELAMPS processing wherein FIG. 2a shows laser-treated and untreated areas of the sample and FIG. 2b shows metallic luster of the laser-treated area. FIG. 2c shows a sample left in air after 24 and 72 hrs. that started to re-convert to the original oxide/hydroxide state.

[0015] FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of production apparatus for practicing a certain method embodiment of the present invention.

[0016] FIGS. 4a and 4b are plots of UV-Vis spectra for various rare earth acetates listed in the figures demonstrating selective excitation peaks for use in selecting wavelength(s) for separation of Ce metal (FIG. 4a) and of Pr metal and Nd metal (or as an metal alloy thereof) (FIG. 4b).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] Certain embodiments of the present invention illustrate use of a controlled pulsed laser light impingement to achieve a selective reduction (separation) process are described in detail below for purposes of illustration and not limitation wherein rare earth element-containing hydroxides, oxides and oxalates such as Nd(OH).sub.3, Nd.sub.2(C.sub.2O.sub.4).sub.3, and (Nd.sub.0.75Pr.sub.0.25).sub.2(C.sub.2O.sub.4).sub.3, and Gd.sub.2(C.sub.2O.sub.4).sub.3, and others represented by (Nd1-xPrOx).sub.2(C.sub.2O.sub.4).sub.3, at room temperature are impinged by pulsed laser light controlled to selectively dissociate the constituents to yield a REM (rare earth metal), which can comprise at least one of La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Pr, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb and Lu. The Examples are offered for purposes of illustration and not limitation since embodiments of the present invention can be practiced with respect to other rare earth element-containing compounds, complexes and other material that contain a rare earth element bonded in a manner that can be dissociated by impingement of the material by properly controlled pulsed laser light to this end.

EXAMPLES

[0018] Embodiments of the RELAMPS method have been demonstrated with Nd and Gd salts using the laser processing chamber shown in FIG. 1, in which chamber a cold pressed, powder pellet cube-shaped sample (“Sample”) is positioned on a titanium pedestal below a quartz (fused silica, 1064 nm permeable) window 10 as shown prior to laser conversion. The RELAMPS method has been demonstrated by pulsed laser treatment on pellets of Nd(OH).sub.3, Nd.sub.2(C.sub.2O.sub.4).sub.3, and (Nd.sub.0.75Pr.sub.0.25).sub.2(C.sub.2O.sub.4).sub.3, and Gd.sub.2(C.sub.2O.sub.4).sub.3 in the controlled atmosphere laser processing chamber under N.sub.2 blanket and at 1 mbar pressure (sub-atmospheric pressure) with inlet 12 for N.sub.2 gas entry to the chamber and outlet 14 for chamber evacuation by vacuum pumping. Other alternate blanket gases can be used in lieu of nitrogen such as argon, helium, and others. A 1064 nm, 12 ps Nd-YAG pulsed laser positioned outside the chamber was used with 3W power for the conversion process with its beam scanned through the quartz window 10 across the sample in lines of 15 mm length with a scan speed of 2 mm/s and a line spacing of about 128 μm, which are parameters that can be optimized for specific systems. In the Example, the laser beam did not go through the entire pellet sample only because the available laser system could not achieve full penetration. For example, the pellet samples (10 mm cubes) for laser treatment were 300-400 microns in thickness; yet the available laser beam penetrated to 100-200 microns. A more powerful pulsed laser system can be chosen to overcome this limitation of the Examples.

[0019] For the Nd salt samples (i.e. Nd(OH).sub.3), the starting hydroxide pellet powder sample, FIG. 1, was converted into a dark metal powder after laser treatment using the 1064 nm, 12 ps Nd-YAG pulsed laser. To this end, FIG. 2a shows laser-treated and untreated areas of a sample. FIG. 2b (with metallic luster) shows metal sample from the laser treated area which also reveals the laser tracks during the processing. FIG. 2c shows a sample that was exposed to air for 24 hrs. and 72 hrs. and was observed to re-convert to the original hydroxide/oxide form. As a result, the laser-treated sample needs to be kept in inert atmosphere to prevent oxidation. That includes handling, storage and transportation in inert atmosphere chambers. However, this becomes less of a concern if the result REM powder is melted into an ingot.

[0020] Similar results using the same pulsed laser parameters, i.e. wavelength 1064 nm, pulse width 12 ps and scan speed 2mm/s, were obtained for the laser-treated samples of Nd.sub.2(C.sub.2O.sub.4).sub.3, and (Nd.sub.0.75Pr.sub.0.25).sub.2(C.sub.2O.sub.4).sub.3, and Gd.sub.2(C.sub.2O.sub.4).sub.3 where Nd.sup.0 metal and Gd.sup.0 metal were obtained at the laser-treated areas.

[0021] For the Gd oxalate (Gd.sub.2(C.sub.2O.sub.4).sub.3) samples, since Gd metal has a Curie point near room temperature (293 K), it was possible to use ferromagnetism as a signature of metal production. Coercivity in the magnetic hysteresis loop obtained at 273 K for the Gd metal and increasing magnetic moment with reducing temperature, are both signals of ferromagnetism—typical of Gd metal. Oxides or oxalates are paramagnetic, rather than ferromagnetic.

[0022] Furthermore, although the Examples used a picosecond pulsed laser, femtosecond lasers can also be used. The laser frequency is also crucial. IR lasers (as used in the Examples 1064 nm) have larger sample penetration depth but lower energy transmittance (slower conversion). While UV or shorter wavelength lasers typically have lower penetration but better energy transmittance (or faster dissociation). The selection of the laser frequency and parameters therefore depends on sample material, thickness and operational conditions. For purposes and illustration and not limitation, the pulsed laser can include but is not limited to Nd:YAG, Nd:YLF, Nd:YVO4, YLF, LiCAF, LiLuF, LiSAF, etc. as they are relevant laser crystal media for UV to IR range femtosecond pulsed lasers. CO2 lasers that are microsecond/continuous may likely not be applicable.

[0023] FIG. 3 is a schematic illustration of production apparatus for practicing RELAMPS method embodiments of the present invention offered for purposes of illustration and not limitation since other apparatus may be used. The apparatus comprises a roll-by-roll conversion mechanism wherein a line beam of the pulsed laser shaped via the point-to-line lens system will continuously convert REE-containing materials on a moving platform under an inert atmospheric condition to a REM.

Additional Examples Certain other embodiments of the present invention involve selective separation of mixtures of rare earth salts (or other compounds and complexes) into a separate rare earth metal or metal alloy via reduction in the manner described above by using an appropriate selectively tuned pulsed laser wavelength to this end.

[0024] For purposes of illustration, the selective nature of light-matter interactions can be employed in advantageous manner towards the separations of mixed REE salts. The selective bond excitation wavelengths for different REE species are strongly correlated to their electronic configuration and oxidation state. In FIG. 4a, UV-Vis spectra of four RE acetates (Ce, La, Pr and Nd) demonstrate their select absorbance at different wavelengths between 900-190 nm. The peaks in the UV-Vis spectra indicate the specific wavelengths that induce electronic excitations corresponding to a given ionic species. Energetic excitations at these selective wavelengths would lead to molecular dissociation of the ionic species. The definitive and non-overlapping peaks established for Ce, Nd and Pr salts indicate the possibility of individual RE cationic excitation and consequent separations. The RELAMPS technology can be efficiently used for RE separations following the selective electronic excitation principle. From a mixed batch of the above-mentioned salts, Ce could be efficiently separated first at —250 nm (FIG. 4a) by converting it to Ce metal. The selective separation of Ce, the primary element in most RE ores, significantly improves the concentration of the other elements. Nd and Pr could be subsequently separated by converting them to metals at the demarcated wavelengths (FIG. 4b). Other wavelengths (not shown) for selective separation of Pr from Nd are near 1064 and 1500 nm wavelengths. If Nd—Pr alloy metal is desired, as typically done industrially, the treatment can be performed near 590 nm wavelength. Finally, La could be separated at ˜195 nm. In addition to Nd and Pr, Ce and La are now being used in magnets, which means that RELAMPS can also enable their separation from recycled magnet wastes. The ability to perform these separations solid-state using a tunable wavelength laser and under ambient conditions provide significant advantage in terms of versatility, energy efficiency, environmental friendliness and process economics over existing pyro-/hydrometallurgical methods.

[0025] Although the present invention has been described with respect to certain illustrative embodiments, those skilled in the art will appreciate that modifications and changes can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

REFERENCES WHICH ARE INCORPORATED HEREIN BY REFERENCE:

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