Most people are familiar with rechargeable batteries, hybrid vehicles, renewable energy (such as wind turbines), mobile phones, flat screen display panels, laptop computers, compact fluorescent light bulbs, disk drives & catalytic converters, but it is not widely known that these products, amongst many others, are dependent on the unique properties of Rare Earth Elements.
The use of rare earth in magnets, rechargeable batteries and catalysts accounts for more than 60% of REE consumption with demand expected to increase significantly in all these areas.
Atomic Number | REE Element | Symbol | Application |
21 | Scandium | Sc | Aerospace framework, high-intensity street lamps, high performance equipment |
39 | Yttrium | Y | TV sets, cancer treatment drugs, enhances strength of alloys |
57 | Lanthanum | La | Camera lenses, battery-electrodes, hydrogen storage |
58 | Cerium | Ce | Catalytic converters, colored glass, steel production |
59 | Praseodymium | Pr | Super-strong magnets, welding goggles, lasers |
60 | Neodymium | Nd | Extremely strong permanent magnets, microphones, electric motors of hybrid automobiles, laser |
61 | Promethium | Pm | Not usually found in Nature |
62 | Samarium | Sm | Cancer treatment, nuclear reactor control rods, X-ray lasers |
63 | Europium | Eu | Color TV screens, fluorescent glass, genetic screening tests |
64 | Gadolinium | Gd | Shielding in nuclear reactors, nuclear marine propulsion, increases durability of alloys |
65 | Terbium | Tb | TV sets, fuel cells, sonar systems |
66 | Dysprosium | Dy | Commercial lighting, hard disk devices, transducers |
67 | Holmium | Ho | Lasers, glass coloring, High-strength magnets |
68 | Erbium | Er | Glass colorant, signal amplification for fiber optic cables, metallurgical uses |
69 | Thulium | Tm | High efficiency lasers, portable x-ray machines, high temperature superconductor |
70 | Ytterbium | Yb | Improves stainless steel, lasers, ground monitoring devices |
71 | Lutetium | Lu | Refining petroleum, LED light bulbs, integrated circuit manufacturing |
