The isolation procedures that are used to extract lutetium from the minerals it occurs in are very complex and difficult. The difficulties of these extraction and isolation procedures make small scale laboratory isolation of lutetium impossible. Lutetium is found, in addition to other rare earth metals and lanthanides, in the mineral monazite.
The isolation process of lutetium begins with treating the monazite with sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, and sodium hydroxide. This beginning process helps to extract the lanthanides, including lutetium, from the monazite in their salt form. Further extraction processes using repeated solvent extractions and ion exchange chromatography are needed to reduce lutetium from its salt form. Once lutetium is reduced to its fluoride compound, it is further isolated with treatments with pure metal calcium. In this reaction, the lutetium fluoride is combined with metal calcium and heated; any calcium contaminants that are left are removed through vacuum processes to yield pure lutetium.
