Beryl ores

The sulfate process is based on the attack of activated beryl by sulfuric acid to form water-soluble Be and A1 sulfates and insoluble silica. A flow diagram summarizing this process is given in Scheme 1. Activated beryl must be used since the natural ore is resistant to acid attack except by HF, which is prohibitively expensive. High-grade beryl ore (> 10% BeO) is normally activated by a heat-treatment process... 

Beryllium metal, beryllium-aluminum alloy, beryl ore, beryllium chloride, beryllium fluoride, beryllium hydroxide, beryllium sulfate, and beryllium oxide all produce lung tumors in rats exposed by inhalation or intra-tracheally. The oxide and the sulfate produce lung tumors in monkeys after intrabronchial implantation or inhalation. A number of compounds produce osteosarcomas in rabbits after their intravenous or intramedullary administration. ... 

Beryllium sulfate (see Beryllium and beryllium compounds) Beryl ore (see Beryllium and beryllium compounds)... 

SYNS BERYLLIUM ALUMINOSILICATE BERYLLIUM ALUMINUM SILICATE BERYL ORE... 

Another atomic mineral available is beryl ore from which beryllium is produced. Reserves of this mineral are located mainly in Rajasthan, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, and Mysore and are large enough to meet India s requirements for beryllium. 

Several breakdown processes have been used in which the ore is reacted with a fused or sintered fluorinating agent such as potassium hydrogen fluoride or sodium silicofluoride. The most important of these is the Copaux-Kawecki process for opening beryl ore. This is in many ways a unique process and other processes are unlikely to have many features in common with it apart from the problems associated with the handling of toxic fluorides. Since the fluorine is in combination with sodium, as the simple fluoride or as stable complexes with silicon and iron, the severe corrosion conditions inherent in many other fluorination reactions are almost absent in this case. 

Beryl ores are processes in one of two ways. They may be finely ground, sintered with sodium fluorosilicate, and the resulting beryllium fluoride leached with water or the lump ore can be fused, quenched, annealed, and the beryllium sulfate leached with sulfuric acid. In either case, the resulting solutions are purified, and beryllium hydroxide is precipitated. This may be converted to other beryllium compounds, or reduced to the metal. Beryllium metal is then generally broken into small particles that are pressed into masses with various desired shapes through powder-metallurgical methods. Alloys, beryllium metals, and BeO account for all but a small amount of beryllium used [15]. 

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