Union Oil Company of California

Paula J Bosserman

Vernon T Taniguchi

Morton M Wong

Allen W Doty

Josefina M Dumdum

Recovery of cerium values from fluoride-containing ores such as bastnasite is enhanced. The ore is ground, roasted, and leached with dilute hydrochloric acid to produce an ore concentrate. The concentrate is treated with a solution of hydrochloric acid and boric acid to solubilize cerium values and convert fluoride to tetrafluoroborate ion. Tetrafluoroborate is removed from the solution, e.g., by precipitation, and the solution is further processed for recovery of cerium values. Removal of tetrafluoroborate avoids loss of cerium as insoluble cerium tetrafluorborate during said further processing.

Recovery of cerium

Recovery of cerium from fluoride-containing ores

A process for upgrading technical low grade cerium/fluorine-containing residues having concentrations of silicon and iron above about 1.0 weight percent produces compositions wherein the combined silicon and iron content is less than about 1.0 weight percent. Typically, the cerium content is raised to above about 50 weight percent and sufficient fluorine is present for the fluorine-to-cerium molar ratio to be 3.0 or above. Lubricating compositions comprising a major part of a lubricant and a minor amount of said upgraded cerium/fluorine-containing residue are useful as anti-wear lubricants.

Cerium-containing lubricating compositions

Chromatographic species are continuously separated by either elution or displacement HPLC using an apparatus that comprises a stationary inlet distribution manifold, a stationary chromatographic bed, and mobile collector receptacles.

Continuous high performance liquid chromatography

Fused polynuclear aromatic compounds (PNAs) are continuously removed from a recycle oil stream in a hydrocracking process. An adsorption bed removes the PNAs from the recycle oil, a desorbing reagent removes the PNAs from the bed, and a regenerating agent regenerates the bed, all steps being performed simultaneously and continuously.

Continuous removal of polynuclear aromatics from hydrocarbon recycle oil

Chlorine is removed from a gas stream by contacting the stream with a pulverized, oxidized bastnasite ore in the presence of water. The invention is particularly applicable to the processing of bastnasite ore for the recovery of rare earth compounds wherein there is produced a waste gas stream containing chlorine.

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Riverside, CA, United States of America

Paula J Bosserman