Application of vacuum metallurgy in the preparation and purification of rare earth metals

High-purity rare earth metals are key raw materials for the research and development of high-tech materials and the basis for obtaining high-performance materials. A small amount or even a very small amount of impurities will have a significant impact on their physical and chemical properties. The purity of rare earth metals is a key factor affecting the performance of functional and structural materials. For example, high oxygen concentration in rare earth metals will weaken the intrinsic coercivity of permanent magnetic materials; magnetostrictive materials will almost lose their magnetostrictive function when the mass fraction of oxygen exceeds 1×10^-3; low rare earth purity will lead to unstable performance of rare earth steel.

At present, the purification methods of rare earth metals mainly include vacuum melting, vacuum distillation, zone melting, electrolytic refining, solid phase external getter method, solid state electromigration, etc. Among them, vacuum melting, vacuum distillation, solid phase external getter method and solid state electromigration all belong to the category of vacuum metallurgy. Vacuum metallurgy is a metallurgical process carried out under a pressure below one atmosphere. Due to its clean and efficient characteristics, it is widely used in crude metal refining, secondary resource recovery and high-purity metal preparation.

The preparation of high-purity rare earth metals requires a combination of multiple experimental processes and multiple purification methods. Therefore, improving the process flow, improving the production efficiency of existing purification technologies, integrating existing purification methods, and developing new and efficient purification processes and experimental equipment are important directions for future development.

Suzhou KP Chemical Co., Ltd can provide high purity rare earth metals such as Lanthanum, Cerium, Praseodymium, Neodymium，Samarium, Europium, Gadolinium, Terbium, Dysprosium, Holmium, Erbium, Thulium, Ytterbium, Lutetium, Yttrium and Scandium. Please contact info@szkpchem.com or 086-18915544907.