Yttrium
Production

As yttrium is chemically similar to lanthanides, it occurs in the same ores (rare-earth minerals) and is extracted by the same refinement processes. A slight distinction is recognized between the light (LREE) and the heavy rare-earth elements (HREE), but the distinction is not perfect. Yttrium is concentrated in the HREE group because of its ion size, though it has a lower atomic mass.

Rare-earth elements (REEs) come mainly from four sources:

One method for obtaining pure yttrium from the mixed oxide ores is to dissolve the oxide in sulfuric acid and fractionate it by ion exchange chromatography. With the addition of oxalic acid, the yttrium oxalate precipitates. The oxalate is converted into the oxide by heating under oxygen. By reacting the resulting yttrium oxide with hydrogen fluoride, yttrium fluoride is obtained. When quaternary ammonium salts are used as extractants, most yttrium will remain in the aqueous phase. When the counter-ion is nitrate, the light lanthanides are removed, and when the counter-ion is thiocyanate, the heavy lanthanides are removed. In this way, yttrium salts of 99.999% purity are obtained. In the usual situation, where yttrium is in a mixture that is two-thirds heavy-lanthanide, yttrium should be removed as soon as possible to facilitate the separation of the remaining elements.

Annual world production of yttrium oxide had reached 600 tonnes (660 short tons) by 2001; by 2014 it had increased to 6,400 tonnes (7,000 short tons). Global reserves of yttrium oxide were estimated in 2014 to be more than 450,000 tonnes (500,000 short tons). The leading countries for these reserves included Australia, Brazil, China, India, and the United States. Only a few tonnes of yttrium metal are produced each year by reducing yttrium fluoride to a metal sponge with calcium magnesium alloy. The temperature of an arc furnace of greater than 1,600 °C is sufficient to melt the yttrium.
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