New Rare Earth Compound Preparation Technology Developed Successfully

The special fund project of the Ministry of Science and Technology, undertaken by the Baotou Research Institute of Rare Earths, was used to identify the preparation of new rare earth compounds with special physical and chemical properties. In January 2004, it was identified by the organization of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
Most rare earth compounds of China's special physicochemical properties are extracted by laboratory methods. In order to achieve industrial production of such rare earth compounds, the researchers of the project used the coprecipitation method to study different precipitants, precipitation conditions, drying conditions, and calcination conditions for the products. Based on the effect of physical and chemical properties, the best preparation method for preparing rare earth compounds with special physicochemical properties was found. The new process is simple, low-cost, easy to industrialize, and solves the problem of powder agglomeration.
According to reports, rare earth compounds with a large specific surface area and special physicochemical properties are mainly used as sintering aids for precision ceramics and for the preparation of ceramic engines and cutting tools. The market is growing rapidly. Low specific surface area rare earth compounds are mainly used as abrasive materials, glass additives, electrolyte materials for solid fuel cells, and the like.
As a major country with rare earth resources, China exports a large amount of low value-added primary products to Japan, the United States, and the European Union each year, but at the same time it has to import some special physical and chemical properties of rare earth compounds. At present, the project has a production capacity of 10 tons/year and can produce rare earth compounds with different specific surface areas and particle sizes. The product performance has reached the technical specifications of similar foreign products and has partially replaced imported products.