Perfect 👍 — let’s treat **Neon** as a standalone element, same style.
Neon is a **noble gas**, and it’s **not chemically bound in compounds**. It only exists in **trace amounts in the atmosphere (≈18 ppm by volume)** and is extracted **physically, not chemically**. That means almost all methods are variants of **air separation**.
Here are the **20 most common methods of extracting Neon (Ne)**:
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# **20 Most Common Methods of Extracting Neon**
### **A. Industrial Air Separation (Primary Source)**
1. **Cryogenic Fractional Distillation of Air** – The main method; neon is concentrated when air is liquefied and separated by boiling points.
2. **Double Fractional Distillation (Two-Stage)** – First remove N₂ and O₂, then separate neon from argon/helium mixtures.
3. **Rectification in Low-Temperature Columns** – Specialized columns separate neon-rich fractions from liquid oxygen.
4. **Neon Recovery from Liquid Oxygen Storage Tanks** – Commercial plants often skim neon-rich gas from LOX tanks.
5. **Air Separation with Heat Exchangers** – Optimized cooling cycles increase neon yield.
6. **Integrated Neon Recovery Units in Oxygen Plants** – Large O₂/N₂ plants add a side process to capture neon.
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### **B. Alternative Air Separation Approaches**
7. **Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) for Neon-Enriched Fractions** – Used for pre-concentration before cryogenic separation.
8. **Vacuum Swing Adsorption (VSA)** – Same concept, using vacuum cycles.
9. **Membrane Separation (Pre-Enrichment)** – Rare, but membranes can slightly enrich neon before liquefaction.
10. **Helium-Neon Co-Separation** – Neon often comes out with helium, then separated by further distillation.
11. **Zeolite Adsorption at Cryogenic Temperatures** – Neon adsorbs differently than O₂/N₂, aiding separation.
12. **Activated Carbon Adsorption** – Occasionally used in lab-scale pre-separation.
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### **C. Byproduct Recovery**
13. **Neon Extraction from Liquid Argon Streams** – Neon often accumulates in argon byproducts and can be distilled off.
14. **Recovery During Oxygen Liquefaction for Steelmaking** – Industrial LOX production yields small neon streams.
15. **Collection from Neon-Helium Mixtures (Natural Gas Processing)** – Some natural gases contain traces of helium + neon.
16. **Side-Draws from Large-Scale LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) Plants** – Rare, but LNG processes can concentrate neon.
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### **D. Laboratory & Experimental Techniques**
17. **Fractional Evaporation from Cryogenic Mixtures** – Simple lab method to enrich neon.
18. **Low-Temperature Gas Chromatography** – Rarely used, but can separate noble gases including neon.
19. **Getter-Freezing (Deep Cold Traps)** – Neon remains uncondensed while other gases are frozen out (lab-scale).
20. **Mass Spectrometry Separation (Isotope Work)** – Ultra-trace extraction of neon isotopes, not industrial, but important in research.
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✅ **Summary:**
* **Almost all commercial neon** comes from **cryogenic fractional distillation of air** (methods 1–6).
* **Secondary/byproduct methods** (13–16) are practical in certain industries (steelmaking, LNG, natural gas).
* **Laboratory methods** (17–20) are niche, research-focused.
* **Global fact:** Less than **0.0018% of air** is neon, so production is costly and tied to oxygen plants.
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Would you like me to continue with **Argon** next (since it’s another noble gas but far more abundant, with more industrial methods)?
