Nature Sustainability publishes an innovative strategy for extracting rubidium

Rubidium (Rb) is a soft, silvery-white metal that belongs to the alkali metal category. Elemental rubidium is highly reactive and has properties similar to other alkali metals, such as rapid oxidation in air. With the rapid development of science and technology, the demand for rubidium continues to rise. Rubidium's unique chemical properties and wide application value play an increasingly important role in modern science and technology.

Rubidium ranks 23rd in abundance among all elements in the Earth's crust, close to zinc and more common than copper. About 80% of the Earth's rubidium resources are distributed in salt lakes and oceans, and their concentration is generally low, about 20 ppm, making it difficult to directly extract and utilize. The remaining 20% ​​of rubidium is distributed in rubidium-containing minerals, such as lithium mica and granite, but due to the low distribution of rubidium in these minerals, the extraction process is complicated and costly.

The journal Nature Sustainability published an innovative "crystal ripening microextraction (CRME)" strategy, which uses the ion diffusion characteristics during the crystal ripening process to achieve efficient extraction of rubidium from solid KCl. In this process, rubidium ions migrate from small crystals to large crystals to form "ligand vacancies", thereby achieving highly selective separation of rubidium. Compared with traditional liquid phase extraction methods, CRME technology reduces energy consumption by 97.57%, increases recovery efficiency by 22.24%, and increases the rubidium/potassium separation factor by 13.46 times.

Suzhou KP Chemical Co., Ltd can provide Rubidium compounds such as Rubidium (Rb), Rubidium chloride (RbCl), Rubidium carbonate (Rb₂CO₃), Rubidium fluoride (RbF), Rubidium nitrate (RbNO₃), Rubidium acetate (RbOAc), Rubidium iodide (RbI), Rubidium sulfate (Rb₂SO₄), Rubidium hydroxide (RbOH), Rubidium Titanyl Phosphate (RTP) and Rubidium Phosphate (Rb₃PO₄). Please contact info@szwww.kpchemmaterial.com or 086-18915544907.