Group 6

Extraction
of Beryllium

Diya Mondal
Megha Mitra
Banhishikha Nandi
What is
Beryllium?
Discovered in 1798 by French chemist Nicolas-
Louis Vauquelin
Brittle steel-gray colored metal
Lightest in the alkaline earth metals of group 2
of periodic table (3)
 Primary Ores

Beryl Bertrandite
Contains up to 5% beryllium Contains up to 1.5% beryllium
Indian beryl has a consistently high proportion of 11 to 13% BeO. Main source of US production
United States 190 metric tons

China 74 metric tons

Brazil 40 metric tons

Mozambique 25 metric tons

The United States has about 60% of the

world's beryllium resources, with the
majority of these resources located in
Utah, Nevada, South Dakota, Texas,
Alaska.
In India major Be producing states are
Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, and Rajasthan(1)
 Global Deposits
In 2023, the worldwide production of beryllium was estimated at 330 metric tons, up
from some 313 metric tons in the previous year. Over the last decade, global beryllium
production reached a high of 337 metric tons in 2014. (2)
 Challenges & specialties of the ores (3)

Beryl Bertrandite
Challenges Challenges
Resource Scarcity Lower grade
High Processing Costs Environmental impacts
Environmental and Health Health impacts
Hazards Specialties
Specialties Associated Minerals
Gemstone Varieties Radioactivity
Chemical Stability High-Melting Point
High Hardness and Oxide
Strength
 •Pyro-Hydrometallurgy

Extraction •Direct Hydrometallurgy

Techniques
•Conversion + Electrolysis
Silicofluoride process or
pyro-hydrometallurgical techniques
Roasting of Beryl ore at a temperature ranging from 500 to 900°C for 1.5 hours using beryl :
fluorinating agent - 1:2 weight ratio where CaF2, AlF3, and Na2SiF6 were used as fluorinating
agents.

3BeO.Al2O3.6SiO2 + 6Na2SiF6 = 3Na2BeF4 + 2Na3AlF6 + 9SiO2 + 3SiF4

Na2SiF6 = 2 NaF + SiF4
2BeO + SiF4 = 2 BeF2 +SiO2
BeF2 +2 NaF = Na2BeF4

After roasting the product was leaching with water and 25% H2SO4 at 95 o C for 3/4 hour
separately. It is noticed that leaching the roasted product with 25 % H2SO4 raises beryllium
extraction.
1
Effect of type
of Fluorinating
agent on % Be
Extracted at
Different
Temperatures

Na2SiF6> AlF3> CaF2

1
Effect of
amount of
Fluorinating
agent on % Be
Extracted at
Different
Temperatures % Be extracted ∝ increase in
Fluorinating agent
1
Effect of
Leaching Time
on % Be
Extracted at
Different
Temperatures
Leaching time (mins)

% Be extracted ∝ Leaching Time

1
Direct hydrometallurgical techniques
or sulfate techniques
Fused or sintered beryl dissolves in sulfuric acid. Heat-treated beryl needs hot,
concentrated acid (or pressure), while alkali-decomposed beryl dissolves more easily but
requires more acid to convert the alkali to sulfate.
The respective reaction is:

3 BeO.Al2O3.6SiO2+ 6H2SO4 = 3BeSO4 + Al2(SO4)+ 9SiO2+3H2O

Beryl +alkali product +(6+n) H2SO4= 3 BeSO4+Al2 (SO4)+ nM"SO4+
9SiO2+(6+n)H2O

This technique is achieved through direct leaching of beryl with sulphuric acid. 1
 Step 1
1
Conversion of Beryl to

Conversion + BeO

Electrolysis Step 2
2
Electrolysis of BeO

2
Step 1: Conversion of Beryl to BeO
(Alkali Fusion Method)
Involves reaction of powdered beryl + K2CO3 or KOH + H2SO4:
The respective reaction is:

Calcination of BeSO4 takes place at a temperature range of 900-1100°C. 2

2
Step 2: Electrolysis of BeO
BeO is reduced in an electric arc furnace.
The lower part of the furnace acts as one of the
electrodes (Cathode).
The other carbon electrode (anode) held vertically.
Powdered BeO is mixed with powdered coke and
charged in the furnace.
As the temperature of the furnace rises, carbon
reacts with the oxygen of BeO forming CO.
The beryllium metal is collected from the bottom of
the furnace.

2
 Types of Scales

Bench
Lab Scale Pilot Scale
Scale
 High Energy and
1
Temperature Requirements

Problems 2 Low Abundance & Complexity

associated with 3 Environmental concerns

extraction of Be
4 Separation & Purity

5 High Costs
 Examples of Beryllium Applications

Radiation Windows In Nuclear reactors Mechanical Acoustic, Electronic

and nuclear fusion applications of and Medical
and X-Ray detection
lab Beryllium and its applications.
Alloys.
Radiation
Windows and Because of its low atomic number , extreme demands are

X-Ray tubes placed on purity and cleanliness of beryllium to avoid artifacts in

the X-ray images. Thin beryllium foils are used as radiation
windows for X-ray detectors, and their extremely low
absorption minimizes the heating effects caused by high-
intensity, low energy X-rays typical of synchrotron radiation.
Vacuum-tight windows and beam-tubes for radiation
experiments on synchrotrons are manufactured exclusively
from beryllium. In scientific setups for various X-ray emission
studies (e.g., energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy) the sample
holder is usually made of beryllium because its emitted X-rays
have much lower energies (≈100 eV) than X-rays from most
studied materials.ic number and very low absorption for X-rays,
the oldest and still one of the most important applications of
beryllium is in radiation windows for X-ray tubes[1]
In Nuclear
reactors and Beryllium is commonly used in some neutron sources in
laboratory devices in which relatively few neutrons are needed
nuclear fusion (rather than having to use a nuclear reactor or a particle

lab accelerator-powered neutron generator). For this purpose, a

target of beryllium-9 is bombarded with energetic alpha
particles from a radioisotope such as polonium-210, radium-
226, plutonium-238, or americium-241. In the nuclear reaction
that occurs, a beryllium nucleus is transmuted into carbon-12,
and one free neutron is emitted, traveling in about the same
direction as the alpha particle was heading. Such alpha decay-
driven beryllium neutron sources, named "urchin" neutron
initiators, were used in some early atomic bombs.[2]
 Copper- Beryllium Alloys
Mixing about 2.0% beryllium in to copper forms an alloy called beryllium
copper that is six times stronger than copper alone. Beryllium alloys are used
in many applications because of their combination of elasticity, high electrical
Mechanical conductivity and thermal conductivity, high strength and hardness,
nonmagnetic properties, as well as good corrosion and fatigue
applications resistance.These applications include non-sparking tools that are used near
flammable gases (beryllium nickel), springs, membranes (beryllium nickel and
of Beryllium beryllium iron) used in surgical instruments, and high temperature

and its alloys. devices.The high elastic stiffness of beryllium has led to its extensive use in
precision instrumentation, e.g. in inertial guidance systems and in the support
mechanisms for optical systems. [3]

Aluminium - Beryllium Alloys

To reduce costs, beryllium can be alloyed with significant amounts of
aluminium, resulting in the AlBeMet alloy (a trade name). This blend is
cheaper than pure beryllium, while still retaining many desirable properties.
 Acoustic
OTHER The low weight and high rigidity of beryllium
make it useful as a material for high-frequency
APPLICATIONS speaker drivers. Because beryllium is
expensive (many times more than titanium),
hard to shape due to its brittleness, and toxic if
MEDICAL mishandled, beryllium tweeters are limited to
high-end home, pro audio, and public address
applications.

Medical applications

Beryllium is a component of several dental alloys.Beryllium is

used in X-ray windows because it is transparent to X-rays,
allowing for clearer and more efficient imaging. In medical
imaging equipment, such as CT scanners and
mammography machines, beryllium's strength and light
weight enhance durability and performance. Beryllium is
used in analytical equipment for blood, HIV, and other
diseases. Beryllium alloys are used in surgical instruments,
optical mirrors and laser systems for medical treatments.
Electronic
Applications
Beryllium is a p-type dopant in III-V compound
semiconductors. It is widely used in materials such as
GaAs, AlGaAs, InGaAs and InAlAs grown by molecular
beam epitaxy Cross-rolled beryllium sheet is an excellent
structural support for printed circuit boards in surface-
mount technology. In critical electronic applications,
beryllium is both a structural support and heat sink. The
application also requires a coefficient of thermal expansion
that is well matched to the alumina and polyimide-glass
substrates. The beryllium-beryllium oxide composite "E-
Materials" have been specially designed for these
electronic applications and have the additional advantage
that the thermal expansion coefficient can be tailored to
match diverse substrate materials.[3]
 References
Ores, sources & deposition stats
1. https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-26Q15645/global-and-india-beryllium
2. https://www.statista.com/statistics/802034/production-of-beryllium-worldwide/
3. https://www.britannica.com/science/beryllium
Extraction Process
1) Research paper on: Comparative Studies on Hydrometallurgy and Pyrometallurgy to the Extraction of
Beryllium from Decrepitated Beryl from Wadi El Gemal Region, Eastern Desert, Egypt by Mohamed Shabaan
Atrees1 , Hamed I. E. Mira1 , Yasser M Kawassik1 , And Mohamed E. M. Ali2- Link:
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1742-
6596/2305/1/012034/pdf#:~:text=Extraction%20of%20beryllium%20from%20beryl,to%20produce%20directl
y%20sulfate%20liquor.
2) YouTube channel: Dr. Geeta Tewari https://youtu.be/pjVE33ZBQ6M?feature=shared
Applications
1. ROYAL SOCIETY OF CHEMISTRY
2. Davis, Joseph R. (1998). "Beryllium". Metals handbook. ASM International. pp. 690–691. ISBN 978-0-87170-
654-6. Archived from the original on 27 July 2020.
3. Schwartz, Mel M. (2002). Encyclopedia of materials, parts, and finishes. CRC Press. p. 62. ISBN 978-1-56676-
661-6. Archived from the original on 27 July 2020