Molten salt electrolysis of rare earth elements (IME-RWTH University)

At the IME institute RWTH Aachen, the molten salt electrolysis of rare earth elements is investigated for more than ten years. Topics like the price volatilities, possible supply shortages and the environmental impact during the production make this a very interesting area of research. In this video, the preparation and procedure of molten salt electrolysis of neodymium and praseodymium at IME is shown. This setup is used for investigation of metal synthesis from rare earth oxides and the formation of off-gases under different process conditions. First, the dried oxides are pressed, crushed and sieved to get a certain grain size, then the electrolyte is pre-molten to homogenise the mixture. After that, the electrolyte is filled into the carbon crucible and the lid mounted on the steel cylinder. At the end, a sample of the molten electrolyte is taken during the running experiment. For more details visit our homepage: www.ime-aachen.de

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