It appears to me that the "water envelope" refers to chemical hydrates of water.
So the nanostructures allow a maximum size of hydrates.
How is this flushed after collection? What impels the captured molecules out of their recesses?
A solid-state “atomic channel” for separating rare earth elements
21–30 of 35 posts
Re: A solid-state “atomic channel” for separating rare earth elements
#22and it was created by Chinese born Professor and Student.
Re: A solid-state “atomic channel” for separating rare earth elements
#23Nice. Here's MP Minerals' plant for doing that, in Alliance, TX.[1] It's a modest sized plant in an industrial park. It's fed by a huge mine in California, which has an onsite beneficiation plant. Beneficiation is the first step of separation - sorting the good stuff out from the unwanted dirt, with rock crushers, screens, and flotation. This being "rare" earth mining, the amount of good stuff is tiny relative to the…
What's the general process for the initial separation of unwanted dirt? I've worked in a zinc smelter a long time ago, the initial stage was roasting, heating the ore to 900C to burn off unwanted components (such as sulfur, which went on to become sulfuric acid), and to melt other components. I guess I'm surprised at the absence of flue stacks and cooling towers at the facility shown in the video. Perhaps the facilit…
60 Minutes had some coverage of the beneficiation plant.[1] For rare earths, that's mostly grinding and sorting by density and magnetic properties.
It's a large plant near the mine. Bags of rare earth ore worth about $120,000 per pallet come out, and those are transported to the Texas location for the next step, which has a lot more heat and chemistry.
[1] https://www.linkedin.com/posts/60-minutes_rareearths-activit...
Re: A solid-state “atomic channel” for separating rare earth elements
#24Earlier quoted context omitted.
What's the general process for the initial separation of unwanted dirt? I've worked in a zinc smelter a long time ago, the initial stage was roasting, heating the ore to 900C to burn off unwanted components (such as sulfur, which went on to become sulfuric acid), and to melt other components. I guess I'm surprised at the absence of flue stacks and cooling towers at the facility shown in the video. Perhaps the facilit…
60 Minutes had some coverage of the beneficiation plant.[1] For rare earths, that's mostly grinding and sorting by density and magnetic properties. It's a large plant near the mine. Bags of rare earth ore worth about $120,000 per pallet come out, and those are transported to the Texas location for the next step, which has a lot more heat and chemistry. [1] https://www.linkedin.com/posts/60-minutes_rareearths-activit.…
MP is well positioned in the REE processing space -- now if the share price would stop collapsing then companies in the critical minerals sector would be able to raise capital more easily (MP is the bellwether for the sector)
Re: A solid-state “atomic channel” for separating rare earth elements
#25Earlier quoted context omitted.
Literal video, metaphorical lube.
By Oxford English Dictionary literal definition, not all lubricants are fluids. Etiquette is a mere lubricant of the order of society. OED entry "lubricant" (B.noun) Fine music‥has a sensible effect in‥animating and as it were, lubricating my inventive faculty. OED entry "lubricate" (2.a verb) Lube also used for cash - greasing palms, etc.
Using the a non-lube to lubricate is still metaphorical.
But, I just ignore the word literally and english still works just fine
Re: A solid-state “atomic channel” for separating rare earth elements
#26Earlier quoted context omitted.
60 Minutes had some coverage of the beneficiation plant.[1] For rare earths, that's mostly grinding and sorting by density and magnetic properties. It's a large plant near the mine. Bags of rare earth ore worth about $120,000 per pallet come out, and those are transported to the Texas location for the next step, which has a lot more heat and chemistry. [1] https://www.linkedin.com/posts/60-minutes_rareearths-activit.…
MP is well positioned in the REE processing space -- now if the share price would stop collapsing then companies in the critical minerals sector would be able to raise capital more easily (MP is the bellwether for the sector)
Thanks. Now MP is on my radar.
Re: A solid-state “atomic channel” for separating rare earth elements
#27"“Rare earths always come mixed together, whether they’re in an ore or in a waste stream..."
What these College level projects never address is real world experience with Thorium. "Mixed together" very often includes Thorium. So as you run your process you either leave be hid a pile of Thorium as you extract what you want, or you end up with a pile of Thorium that you extracted.
While Thorium is useful, as I'd love to have a Thorium powered pebble-bed reactor buried in my backyard to power my house, it will attract government regulators when the pile gets big enough causing no end of expansive paperwork on radiological issues.
This is why places like Coal Mines don't extract the Lithium from the Tailings. They just don't want to deal with the radiological issues.
Re: A solid-state “atomic channel” for separating rare earth elements
#28Nice. Here's MP Minerals' plant for doing that, in Alliance, TX.[1] It's a modest sized plant in an industrial park. It's fed by a huge mine in California, which has an onsite beneficiation plant. Beneficiation is the first step of separation - sorting the good stuff out from the unwanted dirt, with rock crushers, screens, and flotation. This being "rare" earth mining, the amount of good stuff is tiny relative to the…
Is that mine in California the one powered by burning sulfur? If I recall correctly, they need sulfuric acid to extract the minerals, and they need power, and burning sulfur to make sulfuric acid produces steam, and sulfur is easier to ship than the acid, so...
(I could be confusing this with a hard rock lithium mine.)
Re: A solid-state “atomic channel” for separating rare earth elements
#29Earlier quoted context omitted.
Is that mine in California the one powered by burning sulfur? If I recall correctly, they need sulfuric acid to extract the minerals, and they need power, and burning sulfur to make sulfuric acid produces steam, and sulfur is easier to ship than the acid, so...
(I could be confusing this with a hard rock lithium mine.)
Yes: the planned Thacker Pass Lithium Mine in Nevada.
Re: A solid-state “atomic channel” for separating rare earth elements
#30Nice. Here's MP Minerals' plant for doing that, in Alliance, TX.[1] It's a modest sized plant in an industrial park. It's fed by a huge mine in California, which has an onsite beneficiation plant. Beneficiation is the first step of separation - sorting the good stuff out from the unwanted dirt, with rock crushers, screens, and flotation. This being "rare" earth mining, the amount of good stuff is tiny relative to the…
That's one of those corporate videos that's totally useless. Lot's of "pretty" pictures with drone footage, but there's no there there. Who do videos like this work on?
There's something to be said for that. If the Slate electric car people had a picture of their factory, they'd be more credible.