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Rare earth metals production using alternative feedstock that eliminates HF

Author

Listed:
  • Anirudha Karati

    (Ames National Laboratory)

  • Harshida Parmar

    (Ames National Laboratory)

  • Trevor Riedemann

    (Ames National Laboratory)

  • Matthew Besser

    (Ames National Laboratory)

  • Denis Prodius

    (Ames National Laboratory)

  • Ikenna C. Nlebedim

    (Ames National Laboratory)

Abstract

This work reports the successful production of rare earth (RE) metal using Na-RE-F. Presently, RE metals are primarily produced using RE-fluoride due to its higher air and moisture stability compared to RE-chloride. However, its preparation requires the use of corrosive and hazardous chemicals, such as hydrofluoric acid (HF) or ammonium bifluoride (NH4HF2). The present study demonstrates that Na-RE-F is an alternative salt to the typically used RE-fluoride. The Na-RE-F for this work is produced via a scalable hydrometallurgical approach using three different RE salts as feedstock, including acetate, nitrate, and chloride. HF is neither used nor generated during the salt preparation process. Furthermore, the Na-RE-F powder dries in air (without dry HF), and only water evolves during the drying process. Analyses of the Na-RE-F show that NaF liberates as a flux during the heating process, which lowers the salt reduction temperature to

Suggested Citation

  • Anirudha Karati & Harshida Parmar & Trevor Riedemann & Matthew Besser & Denis Prodius & Ikenna C. Nlebedim, 2025. "Rare earth metals production using alternative feedstock that eliminates HF," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-6, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-59468-w
    DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-59468-w
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