Electrolytic Extraction of Beryllium-oxide from Beryl

Beryllium has of late come into prominence because of its immense value as an alloying element in some binary and ternary non-ferrous alloys. The most important use of this metal is in atomic reactors where it acts as a moderator for slowing down fast neutrons. It is obtained from the mineral beryl of which India is one of the principal prod-ucers. An electrolytic method for the extraction of bery-llium-oxide from beryl has been developed at the National Metallurgical Laboratory, which consists in first obtaining
the beryllium in solution as a soluble beryllium salt and then electrolyzing this solution between two graphite electrodes in a diaphragm cell. A slurry containing the hydroxide of beryllium is obtained from the cathode comp-artment, which on washing, drying and ignition, gives the oxide.