Lanthanum Decanting

Ames Laboratory scientist Trevor Riedemann explains the process that allows Ames Laboratory to produce some of the purest lanthanum in the world. This and other high-purity rare-earth elements are used to create alloys used in various research projects and play a crucial role on the Planck satellite mission.

Transcript

00:00:07 [Music] uh the decanting process is literally we are pouring the lanum from one Crucible into another and separating it from the solid tantalum precipitate to to purify it uh the lanum was previously vacuum cast and then tantalum was precipitated out of it by holding it at its melting temperature just at its melting temperature where the solubility of

00:00:29 tanin was as lowest the step next step is to drill holes in the bottom of its Crucible quickly heat the Lan and metal to a molten State and then it pours out or decants out and leaves the precipitated tan tantum behind the element lanum is used in many places I mean it's used from lighter flints all the way up to cracking catalysts which the Petro chemical industry uses for

00:00:52 making gasoline and oils um one of the uses are high Purity material is used for is for making hydrogen absorption materials and we've actually got some of our lanum based alloy in space on the plank Mission which is a satellite survey of the background radiation of the universe [Music]