Ferronickel preparation using Ni-Fe co-deposition process

Nucleation mechanism and technological process for Ni-Fe co-deposition with a relatively high Fe^(2+)concentration surrounded were described,and the effects of Fe^(2+) concentration,solution pH,temperature,and sodium dodecyl sulfonate concentration were investigated.Electrochemical experiments demonstrate that iron's electrodeposition plays a leading role in the Ni-Fe co-deposition process,and the co-deposition nucleation mechanism accords with a progressive nucleation.Temperature increase does favor in increasing nickel content in the ferronickel(Ni-Fe co-deposition products),while Fe^(2+) concentration increase does not.When solution pH is higher than 3.5,nickel content in the ferronickel decreases with pH because of the hydrolysis of Fe^(2+).With the current density of 180 A/m^2,Na_2SO_4 concentration of 100 g/L and Ni^(2+) concentration of 60 g/L,a smooth ferronickel deposit containing 96.21% Ni can be obtained under the conditions of temperature of 60 °C,Fe^(2+) concentration of 0.3 g/L,solution pH of 3 and sodium dodecyl sulfonate concentration of 40 mg/L.