| quantumleap |
01-27-2016 11:49 PM |
The earliest method involved dissolving crude platinum ore in aqua regia, neutralizing the acid with sodium hydr***** (NaOH). Then, precipitation of the platinum metal was done by adding ammonium chloride, NH4Cl, as ammonium chloroplatinate. The element palladium was removed as palladium cyanide after treating the solution with mercuric cyanide. The material that remained was a red rhodium(III) chloride: rhodium metal was isolated via reduction with hydrogen gas.
The industrial extraction of rhodium is complex as the metal occurs in ores mixed with other metals such as palladium, silver, platinum, and gold. It is found in platinum ores and obtained free as a white inert metal which it is very difficult to fuse.
It is also possible to extract Rhodium from spent nuclear fuel, which contains an average of 400 g per metric ton of Rhodium. Rhodium produced in such a way contains radioactive isotopes with half-lives of up to 2.9 years and is therefore stored at least 20 years in a secured area to allow it to become stable.
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