• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.46 no.5
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• pp.455-468
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• 2013

We performed reconnaissance survey on Dashinchilen Nb-Ta REE area and Sant Cu area which are located in southeastern part of Khangai rare metals mineralized belt. In Dashinchilen area, Nb and Ta have been found in pegmatitic granite that is largely distributed in the survey area and muscovite in pegmatite which is an intrusion in paleozoic sedimentary rocks which are mostly composed of sandstone. While grades of Nb and Ta are not high, an outcrop that has high Th and U contents (542 ppm of Th and 56.9 ppm of U) has been found. Average and maximum REE contents in the survey area is three times and seven times, respectively, larger than average REE contents in the crust of the Earth. In Sant area, copper oxides such as malachite has been found in quartzite in paleozoic sedimentary rocks. A sedimentary rock formation that has high grade of Mn (12.4-34.6 %) has been found in the survey area. This sedimentary rock formation is the same formation with that of Ugii Nuur Fe-Mn mineralization which is located about 200 km northwest of the survey area. Average and maximum REE contents in the survey area is two and half times and seven times, respectively, larger than average REE contents in the crust of the Earth. According to the factor analysis for the data of the geochemical analysis, Nb and Ta in Dashinchilen area are highly correlated with muscovite and Cu in Sant area is highly correlated with Mo, Sn, and Bi. Furthermore, the factor analysis results show that Fe in Sant area was deposited with rare earth elements.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.55 no.3
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• pp.241-259
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• 2022

In general, the REE were produced by mining conventional deposits, such as the carbonatite or the clay-hosted REE deposits. However, because of the recent demand increase for REE in modern industries, unconventional REE deposits emerged as a necessary research topic. Among the unconventional REE recovery methods, the REE-bearing coal deposits are recently receiving attentions. R-types generally have detrital originations from the bauxite deposits, and show LREE enriched REE patterns. Tuffaceous-types are formed by syngenetic volcanic activities and following input of volcanic ash into the basin. This type shows specific occurrence of the detrital volcanic ash-driven minerals and the authigenic phosphorous minerals focused at narrow horizon between coal seams and tonstein layers. REE patterns of tuffaceous-types show flat shape in general. Hydrothermal-types can be formed by epigenetic inflow of REE originated from granitic intrusions. Occurrence of the authigenic halogen-bearing phosphorous minerals and the water-bearing minerals are the specific characteristics of this type. They generally show HREE enriched REE patterns. Each type of REE-bearing coal deposits may occur by independent genesis, but most of REE-bearing coal deposits with high REE concentrations have multiple genesis. For the case of the US, the rare earth oxides (REO) with high purity has been produced from REE-bearing coals and their byproducts in pilot plants from 2018. Their goal is to supply about 7% of national REE demand. For the coal deposits in Korea, lignite layers found in Gyungju-Yeongil coal fields shows coexistence of tuff layers and coal seams. They are also based in Tertiary basins, and low affection from compaction and coalification might resulted into high-REE tuffaceous-type coal deposits. Thus, detailed geologic researches and explorations for domestic coal deposits are required.

• Journal of Conservation Science
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• v.30 no.3
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• pp.249-261
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• 2014

This study aims to examine production technique of white wares from the Guyre-2ri 1st and 2nd kiln sites, Wonju, Gangwon Province and characteristics of the used materials, and to find a correlation among materials of the excavated white wares. X-ray fluorescence sequential spectroscopy(XRF), X-ray diffraction(XRD), Dilatometer and Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry(ICP-MS), Inductively coupled plasma automic emission spectrometer(ICP-AES) were applied to determine the chemical composition, crystalline phase of samples, firing temperatures, trace elements and rare earth elements. White wares from the Guyre-2ri kiln sites contained high contents of coloring oxides and fluxes. Though firing temperature of each sample was different, they were mostly fired at a temperature below $1200^{\circ}C$ and some of them experienced a low temperature of $1000^{\circ}C{\pm}20^{\circ}C$ and a high temperature above $1200^{\circ}C$. When analyzing body crystalline phases of the white wares using the XRD method, quartz and mullite were extracted from all the samples, and the proportions were similar to each other. When analyzing the excavated white wares using the Seger formula, also, all the samples showed similar clay sources and production techniques. Moreover, the white wares were made of host rocks of the same geological origin, according to the result of rare earth elements analysis.

• Resources Recycling
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.57-64
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• 2013

Sulfurization reaction characteristics of $Eu_2O_3$, uranium oxides($UO_2$, $U_3O_8$), mixture of $Eu_2O_3$ and uranium oxides, Eu-doped uranium oxides($(U,Eu)O_2$, $(U,Eu)_3O_8$), and phase-separated products prepared by HOX (High temperature OXidation) of $(U,Eu)O_2$ were investigated in the temperature range from 400 to $800^{\circ}C$. Only $Eu_2O_3$ in the mixture of $Eu_2O_3$ and uranium oxides was converted into $Eu_3S_4$ by sulfurization reaction at $450^{\circ}C$ without reaction between them. Sulfurization reaction behavior of $(U,Eu)_3O_8$ and $(U,Eu)O_2$ up to $600^{\circ}C$ was similar to $U_3O_8$ and $UO_2$, respectively, while they were sulfurized into Eu-rich $(U,Eu)S_x$ and ${\alpha}-US_2$ at $800^{\circ}C$. In the sulfurization of RE-rich $(U,Eu)_4O_9$ and $U_3O_8$ prepared by high temperature oxidation, it was confirmed that RE-rich $(U,Eu)S_x$ and UOS phases were formed at $600^{\circ}C$. For Eu-rich $(U,Eu)O_2$ and $UO_2$ prepared by reduction of HOX products, it was identified that Eu-rich (U,Eu)OS was formed at $450^{\circ}C$ by sulfurization of Eu-rich $(U,Eu)O_2$, while $UO_2$ remained unreacted.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.43 no.1 s.284
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• pp.10-15
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• 2006

Photoluminescence (PL) and crystal structures of the $(l-x)CaWO_4-xLi_2WO_4$ binary system added with $Eu_2O_3$ activator have been characterized. The $CaWO_4\;and\;Li_2WO_4$ have the scheelite and phenakite structures respectively. The $CaWO_4-Li_2WO_4-Eu_2O_3$ phosphors show the red luminescence of 613 nm peak wavelength. The wavelength range of excitation spectral band is $380\~470$ nm with the peak wavelength of 397 nm. The $0.88(0.5CaWO_4-0.5Li_2WO_4)-0.12Eu_2O_3$ showed the most superior luminescence characteristics. The effect of co-doping elements such as $Al_2O_3$ and rare-earth oxides on PL has been characterized. The co-doping elements deteriorated the luminescence intensity except the $Al_2O_3$ and $Gd_2O_3$. The PL characteristics of $CaWO_4-Li_2WO_4-Eu_2O_3$ phosphors have been compared to those of the alkali europium double molybdates (tungstates) of scheelite-related structure such as $LiEu(MoO_4)_2$ and $CsEu(MoO_4)_2$. The crystal structures of $(l-y)[(l-x)CaWO_4-xLi_2WO_4]-yEu_2O_3$ phosphors have been characterized using XRD data and rietveld refinement.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.459-470
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• 1989

Single crystals of rare-earth iron garnets were grown from solutions of molten lead oxide, lead fluoride, baric oxide, iron oxide, and the oxides of yttrium, samarium orgadolinium. The crystals were grown by slow cooling technique. A convenient composition was 41.8mol% PbO, 20.59mol% PbF2, 8.23mol% B2O3, 20.00mol% Fe2O3 and 10.00mol% R2O3 where R is Y, Sm or Gd. For this experiment, platinum crucibles of size 20, 30cc and a vertical siliconit tube furnace were used. The precipitation temperature of YIG was observed in the range of 115$0^{\circ}C$-112$0^{\circ}C$ and the optimum growth conditions in this experiment were determined. The nucleation rate was controlled by the holding time after the fast colling, the growth rate by the slow cooling conditiions. The form of the grown YIG crystals showed a combination of {110} and {211}, and the size of the crystals grown in this experiment was up to about 9mm under the conditions of holding time 16hour, cooling rate 2$^{\circ}C$/hr. and temperature range 115$0^{\circ}C$-90$0^{\circ}C$. The precipitatin temperature of SmIG was observed in the range of 105$0^{\circ}C$-98$0^{\circ}C$ and the size of the crystals grown in this experiment was up to about 5mm under the conditiions of holding time 16hours, cooling rate 2$^{\circ}C$/hr. and temperature range 100$0^{\circ}C$-80$0^{\circ}C$.

• Proceedings of the Materials Research Society of Korea Conference
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• 2012.05a
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• pp.70.1-70.1
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• 2012

In-situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and infrared (IR) spectroscopy studies of SOFC cathode materials will be discussed in this presentation. The mixed conducting perovskites (ABO3) containing rare and alkaline earth metals on the A-site and a transition metal on the B-site are commonly used as cathodes for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC). However, the details of the oxygen reduction reaction are still not clearly understood. The information about the type of adsorbed oxygen species and their concentration is important for a mechanistic understanding of the oxygen incorporation into these cathode materials. XPS has been widely used for the analysis of adsorbed species and surface structure. However, the conventional XPS experiments have the severe drawback to operate at room temperature and with the sample under ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) conditions, which is far from the relevant conditions of SOFC operation. The disadvantages of conventional XPS can be overcome to a large extent with a "high pressure" XPS setup installed at the BESSY II synchrotron. It allows sample depth profiling over 2 nm without sputtering by variation of the excitation energy, and most importantly measurements under a residual gas pressure in the mbar range. It is also well known that the catalytic activity for the oxygen reduction is very sensitive to their electrical conductivity and oxygen nonstoichiometry. Although the electrical conductivity of perovskite oxides has been intensively studied as a function of temperature or oxygen partial pressure (Po2), in-situ measurements of the conductivity of these materials in contact with the electrolyte as a SOFC configuration have little been reported. In order to measure the in-plane conductivity of an electrode film on the electrolyte, a substrate with high resistance is required for excluding the leakage current of the substrate. It is also hardly possible to measure the conductivity of cracked thin film by electrical methods. In this study, we report the electrical conductivity of perovskite $La_{0.6}Sr_{0.4}CoO_{3-{\delta}}$ (LSC) thin films on yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) electrolyte quantitatively obtained by in-situ IR spectroscopy. This method enables a reliable measurement of the electronic conductivity of the electrodes as part of the SOFC configuration regardless of leakage current to the substrate and cracks in the film.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.51 no.6
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• pp.554-559
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• 2014

Gadolinium zirconate, $Gd_2Zr_2O_7$, is one of the most promising candidates for replacing yttira-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) in thermal barrier coating (TBC) applications due to its low thermal conductivity and chemical stability at high temperature. In this study, rare-earth zirconate ceramics in the $GdO_{1.5}-ZrO_2$ system with reduced gadolinia contents were fabricated via solid-state reaction as well as hot-pressing at $1800^{\circ}C$. The phase formation, microstructure, and thermo-physical properties of these oxides were examined. The potential application of $GdO_{1.5}-ZrO_2$ ceramics for TBC was also discussed.

• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.50 no.4
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• pp.696-701
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• 2012

Non-aqueous processes have been developed for stable management and reuse of spent fuels. Nowadays, a plan for the management of spent fuel is being sought focusing on a non-aqueous process in Korea. Named as pyroprocessing, it includes an electrolytic reduction process using molten salt at high temperature for the spent fuels, which provides metallic product for a following electro-refining process. The electrolytic reduction process utilizes electrochemical reaction producing Li to convert oxides into metals in high temperature LiCl medium. Various kinds of elements in the spent fuels would be distributed in the system according to their respective reactivity with the reductant, Li, and the medium, LiCl. This study elucidates the reactions of the elements to understand the behavior of composite elements on the spent fuels by thermodynamic calculations. Uranium and transuranic are reduced into their metallic forms while rare-earth oxides, except for Eu, are stable against the reaction at a process temperature. This study also covers the tendency of reactions with respect to the temperature and, finally, estimates radioactivity and heat load on the distributed phases based on the reference spent fuel characteristics.

• Economic and Environmental Geology
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.781-797
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• 2023

Recently, there has been a rapid response from mineral-demanding countries for securing critical minerals in a high tech industries. Graphite, while overwhelmingly dominated by China in production, is changing in global supply due to the exponential growth in EV battery sector, with active exploration in East Africa. Rare earth elements are essential raw materials widely used in advanced industries. Globally, there are ongoing developments in the production of REEs from three main deposit types: carbonatite, laterite, and ion-adsorption clay types. While China's production has decreased somewhat, it still maintains overwhelming dominance in this sector. Recent changes over the past few years include the rapid emergence of Myanmar and increased production in Vietnam. Nickel has been used in various chemical and metal industries for a long time, but recently, its significance in the market has been increasing, particularly in the battery sector. Worldwide, nickel deposits can be broadly classified into two types: laterite-type, which are derived from ultramafic rocks, and ultramafic hosted sulfide-type. It is predicted that the development of sulfide-type, primarily in Australia, will continue to grow, while the development of laterite-type is expected to be promoted in Indonesia. This is largely driven by the growing demand for nickel in response to the demand for lithium-ion batteries. The global lithium ores are produced in three main types: brine lake (78%), rock/mineral (19%), and clay types (3%). Rock/mineral type has a slightly higher grade compared to brine lake type, but they are less abundant. Chile, Argentina, and the United States primarily produce lithium from brine lake deposits, while Australia and China extract lithium from both brine lake and rock/mineral sources. Canada, on the other hand, exclusively produces lithium from rock/mineral type. Vanadium has traditionally been used in steel alloys, accounting for approximately 90% of its usage. However, there is a growing trend in the use for vanadium redox flow batteries, particularly for large-scale energy storage applications. The global sources of vanadium can be broadly categorized into two main types: vanadium contained in iron ore (81%) produced from mines and vanadium recovered from by-products (secondary sources, 18%). The primary source, accounting for 81%, is vanadium-iron ores, with 70% derived from vanadium slag in the steel making process and 30% from ore mined in primary sources. Intermediate vanadium oxides are manufactured from these sources. Vanadium deposits are classified into four types: vanadiferous titanomagnetite (VTM), sandstone-hosted, shale-hosted, and vanadate types. Currently, only the VTM-type ore is being produced.