American Elements is a global manufacturer and distributor of the elements on the periodic table with a 10,000-page online compendium of information on the properties and uses of the elements. The company's headquarters and educational programs are based in Los Angeles, California. Its research and production facilities are located in Salt Lake City, Utah; Monterrey, Mexico; Baotou, China; and Manchester, UK.
Video American Elements
History
American Elements began as a toll chemical manufacturer and refiner serving U.S. mining companies by producing metal-based chemicals from their deposits. In 1998, its two largest customers, the Unocal/Molycorp rare-earth mine in Mountain Pass, California and the Rhodia rare-earth refinery in Freeport, Texas closed, ending domestic U.S. rare-earth production. In response, the company established mining joint ventures in Inner Mongolia, China and in 1999 became one of the first post-Cold War companies to export rare-earth metals from China to the U.S. and Europe.
Over the following decade the company expanded operations to include production of all elements on the periodic table and established educational programs, scholarships and scientific conferences to educate the public on the properties and applications of the elements. In 2001, it founded its website, which is a compendium of information on the periodic table, the elements and the uses of advanced materials.
That same year, the company established its research and development department with the stated goal of developing new materials and the cost effective processes necessary to scale their production to bulk quantities. Materials with application promise that could not be effectively scaled were abandoned in favor of materials and technologies that had the added benefit of being producible at costs in line with their commercial application. Many of the technologies and materials developed at American Elements were co-designed and co-developed with technology partners (see table below). The company develops and commercializes technology materials in partnership with the U.S. military and 30 percent of the Fortune 50 list of companies.
American Elements innovations
Maps American Elements
Product lines
The advanced materials manufactured by the company include:
- Advanced materials
- Ultra-high-purity forms of each element
- Bulk chemicals, research compounds and catalysts
- Rare earths
- Nanoparticles and nanopowders
- Sputtering targets and evaporation materials
- Graphene and organometallics
- Alloys, superalloys, and metal parts
- Pharmaceutical precursors
Discoveries
The company has made several new discoveries in materials science. These include:
- Gadolinium nitrate made with heavy water (Gd(NO3)3 · 2H2O) for use as a neutron "getter" during nuclear reactor maintenance.
- A rare-earth compound used as a dry-film lubricant at extremely high temperatures and pressures.
- A nanoscale "quick-dissolve" powder used in pharmaceuticals.
- Iridium parts for the jewelry industry, most notably pure iridium rings and wedding bands. The company established Smithson Tennant, a new wholly owned subsidiary in November, 2016 to make and market its iridium jewelry production.
Educational programs
In 2006, the company established the not-for-profit American Elements Academics & Periodicals Department. The department provides information on (1) the ways elemental advanced materials are used, (2) global issues effecting the mining and production of the elements such as Sino-American relations, and (3) ways to improve the teaching of science at all grade levels. Since its founding, the department has sponsored approximately 320 conferences on materials science, the elements, mining, and physics. In 2011, it co-sponsored, along with the National Science Foundation, a four-part PBS Nova television series on materials science called "Making Stuff". The department promotes improved transparency in global metal markets. It believes future global rare-earth prices tend to move upward or downward in reaction to China's then projected GDP (gross domestic product). The company publishes an annual Endangered Elements List naming that year's top 5 elements that due to their geopolitical scarcity pose a threat to the future of American high technology manufacturing.
Selected business units
- Aerospace
- Bio-Medical
- Electronics
- Green Technology and Alternative Energy
- Military
- Pharmaceutical
- Research and Academic
References
External links
- Official website
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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