Is there a way to get cerium salts from lighter flint? It contains like 50% cerium along with iron and some other rare earths.ScienceSquirrel - 30-8-2010 at 15:01
It is possible.
There are better and cheaper sources of cerium but if you want to do it as an exercise then go for it.
You want to dissolve 5g of the basic Misch metal as lighter flints in acid.
Take out the iron, leaving just cerium and the other lanthanides if they have not already been extracted by the processors.
Take out the cerium and you will be left with a solution containing small amounts of the other lanthanides.
ScienceSquirrel - 30-8-2010 at 17:35
You would be best off starting from ferrocerium rod rather than lighter flints as it is far cheaper.
Cerium is relatively easily separated from the iron, magnesium, lanthanum, etc as it can be take to CeIV and separated that way.Xenoid - 30-8-2010 at 17:43
This is discussed at some length in the following thread;
Cerium oxide is used as a polishing compound. Many sources of industrial
abrasives carry it for auto finishing, lapidary, machine lapping, etc.arsphenamine - 1-9-2010 at 08:08
Is there a way to get cerium salts from lighter flint? It contains like 50% cerium along with iron and some other rare earths.
Before 1950, hundreds of graduate chemistry degrees were earned by
the fractional crystallization of lanthanide salts. It was an incremental
purification process because there was no other way at the time.
Your job is easier since misch metal is already ~50% cerium.
Ce02 can be used as a feedstock, and powder can be got at Amazon cheaply ~$15/lb.
I read that the element is industrially electrolyzed from its chloride in a NaCl melt.
Benchtop production by thermal decarboxylation of the oxalate looks facile.
Since the metal is pyrophoric and somewhat toxic, reasonable precautions apply.
