Processing to obtain high-purity gallium

Gallium has become increasingly popular as a substrate material for electronic devices. Aside from ore, gallium can be obtained from such industrial sources as the Bayer process caustic liquor that is a byproduct of bauxite processing, flue dust removed from the fume-collection system in plants that produce aluminum by the electrolytic process, zinc refinery residues, gallium scrap materials, and coal fly ash. The purification process for gallium can start with solvent-extraction processes where the concentrations of impurities, especially metals, are reduced to the ppm range. This article describes how ultra-purification techniques can be employed to reduce the undesirable impurities to the low ppb range. The various procedures described give an idea as to the extent of work needed to obtain and prepare high-purity gallium for electronic application.