Options for reducing purified metal chlorides to metallic form were evaluated in support of the development of a metal purification process based on the conversion of impure metal via hydriding followed by chlorination. Metallothermic reduction of CeCl was tested using Li, Ca, and Na as reductant metals with and without a molten salt solvent in MgO and YO-coated MgO crucibles. The effects of added reductant metal form, crucible material and dimensions, and mixture hold times above Ce melting temperature were studied. Direct contact of Li and CeCl was ineffective due to their immiscibility. A low-density alloy was formed between Li and Ce using Li in a LiCl solvent. Na was ineffective at reducing CeCl to any measurable degree. The highest percent recovery (71.4 %) and consolidation of Ce was achieved when using Ca in a CaCl-NaCl solvent with 99.8 % removal of CeCl from the salt. Side reaction with MgO crucibles was found to be at least partially responsible for reduced Ce recovery.

中文翻译：

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使用锂、钠和钙金属在熔盐中金属热还原氯化铈

对将纯化的金属氯化物还原为金属形式的方案进行了评估，以支持基于通过氢化随后氯化转化不纯金属的金属纯化工艺的开发。使用 Li、Ca 和 Na 作为还原剂金属，在 MgO 和 YO 涂层 MgO 坩埚中使用或不使用熔盐溶剂测试了 CeCl 的金属热还原。研究了添加的还原剂金属形式、坩埚材料和尺寸以及混合物在 Ce 熔化温度以上的保持时间的影响。由于Li和CeCl不混溶，直接接触是无效的。在 LiCl 溶剂中使用 Li，在 Li 和 Ce 之间形成低密度合金。 Na 不能有效地将 CeCl 还原至任何可测量的程度。当在 CaCl-NaCl 溶剂中使用 Ca 时，Ce 的回收率最高 (71.4%) 和固结，并且从盐中去除了 99.8% 的 CeCl。发现与 MgO 坩埚的副反应至少部分地导致了 Ce 回收率的降低。