Rare earth laser-assisted metal production and separation
AssigneeIowa State University Research Foundation, Inc.
InventorsCajetan Ikenna Nlebedim, Abhishek Sarkar, Pranav Shrotriya, Denis Prodius, Ho-won Noh, Thomas Lograsso
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A compound or complex containing a rare earth element is impinged with a pulsed laser that is so controlled as to photochemically reduce and obtain a rare earth metal (REM). A mixture of REM salts can be impinged using laser light tuned to selectively reduce a particular rare earth-containing salt of the mixture to separate out as its respective rare earth metal.
Claims19
A method of producing a rare earth metal, comprising impinging a precursor rare earth element-containing compound material in a sub-atmospheric processing chamber with a pulsed laser light controlled in a manner to reduce at least part of the rare earth element-containing compound material in the chamber to yield a rare earth metal.
A method of producing a rare earth metal, comprising impinging a mixture of different constituent rare earth element-containing materials in a sub-atmospheric processing chamber with a pulsed laser light whose wavelength is tuned in a manner to selectively reduce at least one of the constituent rare earth element-containing materials of the mixture to yield a selected rare earth metal.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.