Cerium, as a glass additive, can absorb ultraviolet and infrared radiation and has been widely used in automotive glass. Not only can it prevent ultraviolet rays, but it can also lower the temperature inside the car, thereby saving electricity for air conditioning. Since 1997, cerium oxide has been added to all automotive glass in Japan. In 1996, at least 2000 tons of cerium oxide were used for automotive glass, while the United States had over 1000 tons. (2) Currently, cerium is being applied to automobile exhaust purification catalysts, which can effectively prevent a large amount of automobile exhaust from being discharged into the air. The United States accounts for more than one-third of the total consumption of rare earths in this regard. (3) Cerium sulfide can replace metals such as lead and cadmium that are harmful to the environment and humans in pigments. It can be used to color plastics and also in industries such as coatings, inks, and paper. Currently, the leading company is Rhone Poulenc from France. (4) The Ce: LiSAF laser system is a solid-state laser developed by the United States, which can be used to detect biological weapons by monitoring tryptophan concentration and can also be used in medicine. Cerium is widely used in various fields, and almost all rare earth applications contain cerium. Such as polishing powder, hydrogen storage materials, thermoelectric materials, cerium tungsten electrodes, ceramic capacitors, piezoelectric ceramics, cerium silicon carbide abrasives, fuel cell raw materials, gasoline catalysts, certain permanent magnet materials, various alloy steels, and non-ferrous metals.
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