中国从卤水中提取99.9%高纯铷，在量子与GPS竞争中超越美国

Core Insights - China has developed a new method to extract ultra-pure rubidium chloride from brine containing only trace amounts of rubidium, which is crucial for its high-tech and defense sectors [1][5]. Group 1: Strategic Importance - Rubidium is essential for applications in atomic clocks, perovskite solar cells, aerospace systems, and specialty glass [6]. - The breakthrough is a significant step towards securing the supply of critical minerals for the nation [3]. Group 2: Dependency and Supply Chain - China has historically relied on imports for rubidium, with Canada supplying two-thirds of its imports [4][8]. - In 2021, China imported over 19,500 tons of rubidium concentrate, with a dependency rate of 66.3% [8]. Group 3: Technological Advancements - The research team at the Qinghai Salt Lake Research Institute developed a high-fidelity model to track rubidium distribution during potassium salt processing, revealing the challenges of rubidium enrichment [8]. - The integrated process developed includes ore washing, rubidium leaching, enrichment, solvent extraction, and purification, successfully producing 99.9% pure rubidium chloride from previously unusable low-grade materials [8][9]. Group 4: Economic Impact - The new extraction method significantly reduces production costs, with a cost analysis indicating that the price of rubidium chloride produced through this method is only one-third of the market price at that time [8].