If we are going to transform this planet into a sustainable, infinite energy powered living macine, then Rare Earth Elements will continue to be key components of new technology developed and marketed over the coming years and decades.
Rare Earth Elements are referred to in a variety of ways that are abbreviated as follows:
RE = rare earth
REM = rare earth metals
REE = rare earth elements
REO = rare earth oxides
LREE = light rare earth elements (La-Sm)
HREE = heavy rare earth elements (Eu-Lu)
Rare Earth Element deposits tend to occur in two ways:
Light rare earth elements (‘LREE’), which include lanthanum (La), cerium (Ce), praseodymium (Pr), neodymium (Nd), and samarium (Sm)
Heavy rare earth elements (‘HREE’), which are less common and more value, include europium (Eu), gadolinium (Gd), terbium (Tb), dysprosium (Dy), holmium (Ho), erbium (Er), thulium (Tm), ytterbium (Yb) and lutetium (Lu)
Yttrium (Y) is most commonly found in association with HREE deposits.
Rare Earth Elements (REEs) are used in hybrid cars, renewable energy such as windpower, and in many types of modern electronics. Examples of rare Earth Elements in demand include:
Neodymium – Used for magnets in hybrid cars including Prius, Insight, LEAF, Focus, pretty much EVERY hybrid car model available. Also used in the Dyson Vacuum's magnets.
Europium - Europium is not found in nature as a free element, and has no known biological role. It is a by-product of nuclear fission, and is used in television sets, lasers, fluorescent lamps and in medical tests for Down's Syndrome and other genetic illnesses.
Samarium - Though classified as a rare earth element, samarium is the 40th most abundant element in the Earth's crust and is more common than such metals as tin. Samarium occurs with concentration up to 2.8% in several minerals including cerite, gadolinite, samarskite, monazite and bastnäsite, the last two being the most common commercial sources of the element. These minerals are mostly found in China, the USA, Brazil, India, Sri Lanka and Australia; China is by far the world leader in samarium mining and production.
One of the most important applications of samarium is in samarium-cobalt magnets, which have a nominal composition of SmCo5 or Sm2Co17. They have high permanent magnetization, which is about 10,000 times that of iron and is second only to that of neodymium magnets. However, samarium-based magnets have higher resistance to demagnetization, as they are stable to temperatures above 700 °C (cf. 300–400 °C for neodymium magnets). These magnets are found in small motors, headphones, high-end magnetic pickups for guitars and related musical instruments.[8] For example, they are used in the motors of a solar-powered electric aircraft Solar Challenger and in the Samarium Cobalt Noiseless electric guitar and bass pickups.
Another important application of samarium and its compounds is as catalyst and chemical reagent. Samarium catalysts assist decomposition of plastics, dechlorination of pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), as well as the dehydration and dehydrogenation of ethanol.[9] Samarium(III) triflate (Sm(OTf)3, that is Sm(CF3SO3)3) is one of the most efficient Lewis acid catalysts for a halogen-promoted Friedel–Crafts reaction with alkenes.[66] Samarium(II) iodide is a very common reducing and coupling agent in organic synthesis, for example in the desulfonylation reactions; annulation; Danishefsky, Kuwajima, Mukaiyama and Holton Taxol total syntheses;strychnine total synthesis; Barbier reaction and other reductions with samarium(II) iodide.
Erbium - A silvery-white solid metal when artificially isolated, natural erbium is always found in chemical combination with other elements on Earth. As such, it is a rare earth element which is associated with several other rare elements in the mineral gadolinite from Ytterby in Sweden.
It is commonly used as a photographic filter, and because of its resilience it is useful as a metallurgical additive. Erbium-doped optical silica-glass fibers are the active element in erbium-doped fiber amplifiers (EDFAs), which are widely used in optical communications.[12] The same fibers can be used to create fiber lasers.
Erbium is also used in a variety of medical applications including laser surgery.
Cerium - A major technological application for Cerium(III) oxide is a catalytic converter for the reduction of CO emissions in the exhaust gases from motor vehicles. In particular, cerium oxide is added into Diesel fuels. Another important use of the cerium oxide is a hydrocarbon catalyst in self cleaning ovens, incorporated into oven walls and as a petroleum cracking catalyst in petroleum refining.
Cerium(IV) oxide is considered one of the most efficient agents for precision polishing of optical components. Cerium compounds are also used in the manufacture of glass, both as a component and as a decolorizer. For example, cerium(IV) oxide in combination with titanium(IV) oxide gives a golden yellow color to glass; it also allows for selective absorption of ultraviolet light in glass. Cerium oxide has high refractive index and is added to enamel to make it more opaque.
Dyprosium – The cost of this metal has risen from under $7 a pound in 2006 to over $130 per pound in 2011! Dysprosium is used, in conjunction with vanadium and other elements, in making laser materials. Because of dysprosium's high thermal neutron absorption cross-section, dysprosium oxide-nickel cermets are used in neutron-absorbing control rods in nuclear reactors.[2][19] Dysprosium-cadmium chalcogenides are sources of infraredradiation which is useful for studying chemical reactions.[1] Because dysprosium and its compounds are highly susceptible to magnetization, they are employed in various data storage applications, such as in hard disks
Mining company Lynas Corp. (ASX: LYC) is a producer of rare earth metals that has seen its stock triple over the past year. Bookmark this page in your Faves, join the RSS blog feed and stay tuned for more 2011 Rare Earth Elements stocks and investments in upcoming posts!
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