Perfect 👍 — next in **periodic table order** is **Erbium (Er, atomic number 68).**
Erbium is a **lanthanide (rare earth metal)** that occurs primarily in **monazite (Ce,La,Er,Th)PO₄** and **bastnäsite (Ce,La,Er)(CO₃)F**. Industrial extraction involves **acid or alkaline digestion, solvent extraction, and reduction**.
Here are the **20 most common methods of extracting Erbium**:
---
# **20 Most Common Methods of Extracting Erbium**
### **A. Extraction from Rare Earth Ores**
1. **Crushing and Grinding of Monazite or Bastnäsite** – Prepares ore for chemical treatment.
2. **Acid Digestion (H₂SO₄ or HCl) of Monazite** – Dissolves erbium and other REEs.
3. **Alkaline Digestion (NaOH) of Monazite** – Converts phosphate to soluble erbium salts.
4. **Leaching of Bastnäsite with Acid or Alkali** – Produces soluble erbium compounds.
5. **Purification by Precipitation of Thorium and Other Impurities** – Removes radioactive and heavy elements.
6. **Solvent Extraction of Erbium Salts** – Organophosphorus extractants separate Er³⁺ from other REEs.
---
### **B. Separation and Concentration**
7. **Ion Exchange Separation of Erbium** – Separates Er³⁺ from lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium.
8. **Fractional Precipitation Using Oxalates or Hydroxides** – Concentrates erbium from mixed REE solutions.
9. **Conversion to Erbium Carbonate (Er₂(CO₃)₃)** – Precursor for oxide formation.
10. **Calcination to Erbium Oxide (Er₂O₃)** – Prepares for reduction or industrial use.
11. **Selective Solvent Extraction from Mixed REE Solutions** – Enhances separation efficiency.
12. **Chelating Agent Separation** – Laboratory or pilot-scale selective extraction.
---
### **C. Reduction to Metallic Erbium**
13. **Calciothermic or Metallothermic Reduction of Er₂O₃ → Er** – Main industrial method.
14. **Electrolytic Reduction of Molten ErCl₃** – Produces high-purity metallic erbium.
15. **Vacuum Distillation of Metallic Erbium** – Purification for ultra-high purity Er.
16. **Hydrogen Reduction of Erbium Halides** – Laboratory-scale method.
---
### **D. Recovery from Byproducts / Secondary Sources**
17. **Recovery from Monazite Sands during Thorium Extraction** – Erbium collected as a byproduct.
18. **Recovery from Bastnäsite Refining** – Er separated during extraction of other REEs.
19. **Recovery from Spent Rare Earth Catalysts** – Leaching + precipitation.
20. **Recovery from Recycled Electronics Containing REEs** – Hydrometallurgical extraction.
---
✅ **Summary:**
* **Main industrial sources:** Monazite, bastnäsite.
* **Primary extraction steps:** Ore crushing → acid/alkaline digestion → purification → selective precipitation → reduction/electrolysis → metallic erbium.
* **Metallic erbium:** Produced via calciothermic/metallothermic reduction or molten salt electrolysis.
* **Byproduct sources:** Thorium extraction residues, bastnäsite processing, spent REE catalysts, recycled electronics.
* **Laboratory/experimental:** Ion exchange, selective solvent extraction, vacuum distillation, hydrogen reduction.
---
Next in periodic order is \*\*Thulium (Tm, atomic number 69).
Do you want me to continue with **20 extraction methods for Thulium**?
