info ytterbium

Chemical Element:

Information: Ytterbium

Known Methods of Extraction

Perfect 👍 — next in **periodic table order** is **Ytterbium (Yb, atomic number 70).** Ytterbium is a **lanthanide (rare earth metal)** that occurs primarily in **monazite (Ce,La,Yb,Th)PO₄** and **bastnäsite (Ce,La,Yb)(CO₃)F**. Industrial extraction involves **acid or alkaline digestion, solvent extraction, and reduction**. Here are the **20 most common methods of extracting Ytterbium**: --- # **20 Most Common Methods of Extracting Ytterbium** ### **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 ytterbium and other REEs. 3. **Alkaline Digestion (NaOH) of Monazite** – Converts phosphate to soluble ytterbium salts. 4. **Leaching of Bastnäsite with Acid or Alkali** – Produces soluble ytterbium compounds. 5. **Purification by Precipitation of Thorium and Other Impurities** – Removes radioactive and heavy elements. 6. **Solvent Extraction of Ytterbium Salts** – Organophosphorus extractants separate Yb³⁺ from other REEs. --- ### **B. Separation and Concentration** 7. **Ion Exchange Separation of Ytterbium** – Separates Yb³⁺ from lanthanum, cerium, praseodymium, neodymium, samarium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, holmium, erbium, thulium. 8. **Fractional Precipitation Using Oxalates or Hydroxides** – Concentrates ytterbium from mixed REE solutions. 9. **Conversion to Ytterbium Carbonate (Yb₂(CO₃)₃)** – Precursor for oxide formation. 10. **Calcination to Ytterbium Oxide (Yb₂O₃)** – 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 Ytterbium** 13. **Calciothermic or Metallothermic Reduction of Yb₂O₃ → Yb** – Main industrial method. 14. **Electrolytic Reduction of Molten YbCl₃** – Produces high-purity metallic ytterbium. 15. **Vacuum Distillation of Metallic Ytterbium** – Purification for ultra-high purity Yb. 16. **Hydrogen Reduction of Ytterbium Halides** – Laboratory-scale method. --- ### **D. Recovery from Byproducts / Secondary Sources** 17. **Recovery from Monazite Sands during Thorium Extraction** – Ytterbium collected as a byproduct. 18. **Recovery from Bastnäsite Refining** – Yb 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 ytterbium. * **Metallic ytterbium:** 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 \*\*Lutetium (Lu, atomic number 71). Do you want me to continue with **20 extraction methods for Lutetium**?