Cesium from Pollucite by Aluminum Reduction

Authors

W. A. Gault, Iowa State University
T. L. Young, Phelps Dodge Research LaboratoryFollow
H. A. Wilhelm, Iowa State UniversityFollow

Document Type

Research

Abstract

Aluminum metal was found to liberate cesium almost quantitatively from pollucite ore when reacted under conditions of operation determined by experiments described in the paper. In the treatment, ore ground to pass a 150 mesh sieve is mixed with atomized aluminum and the mixture heated under an inert atmosphere in a retort. Pollucite ore from one source yielded its cesium when treated at 950°C for 4 h while pollucite ore from another source required a temperature up to 1050°C to yield essentially all of its cesium. The cesium metal obtained from pollucite by aluminum reduction is about 90% pure; it contains small amounts of sodium, potassium, rubidium, lithium and other elements. Recovery of pure cesium from this product could be by fractional distillation or by further well established chemical treatments.

Publication Date

1966

Journal Title

Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Science

Volume

73

Issue

1

First Page

81

Last Page

96

Copyright

©1966 Iowa Academy of Science, Inc.

Language

en

File Format

application/pdf

Recommended Citation

Gault, W. A.; Young, T. L.; and Wilhelm, H. A. (1966) "Cesium from Pollucite by Aluminum Reduction," Proceedings of the Iowa Academy of Science, 73(1), 81-96.
Available at: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/pias/vol73/iss1/15