Recovery of valuable metals from a low-grade nickel ore using an ammonium sulfate roasting-leaching process

Metal leaching from a low-grade nickel ore was investigated using an ammonium sulfate roasting-water leaching process. The nickel ore was mixed with ammonium sulfate, followed by roasting and finally leaching with water. During the process the effects of the amotmt of ammonium sulfate, roasting temperature, and roasting time on the leaching recovery of metal elements were analyzed. The optimum technological parameters were determined as follows： ammonium sulfate/ore ratio, 0.8 g/g; roasting temperature, 400℃; and roasting time, 2 h. Under the optimum condition the leaching recoveries ofNi, Cu, Fe, and Mg were 83.48%, 76.24%, 56.43%, and 62.15%, respectively. Furthermore, the dissolution kinetics of Ni and Mg from the nickel ore was studied. The apparent activation energies for the leaching reaction of Ni and Mg were 18.782 and 10.038 kJ.mo1-1, which were consistent with the values of diffusion control reactions. Therefore, the results demonstrated that the leaching recoveries of Ni and Mg were controlled by diffusion.

Simultaneous extraction of gold and zinc from refractory carbonaceous gold ore by chlorination roasting process

A novel process based on chlorination roasting was proposed to simultaneously recover gold and zinc from refractory carbonaceous gold ore by using NaCl as chlorination agent.The effects of roasting temperature,roasting time and NaCl content on the volatilization rates of gold and zinc were investigated.The reaction mechanism and the phase transition process were also analyzed by means of SEM,EDS and XRD.The results demonstrated that under the optimal conditions of NaCl content of 10%,roasting temperature of 800℃,roasting time of 4 h and gas flow rate of 1 L/min,the rates of gold and zinc were 92%and 92.56%,respectively.During low-temperature chlorination roasting stage,a certain content of sulfur was beneficial to the chlorination reactions of gold and zinc;and during high-temperature chlorination roasting stage,the crystal structure of vanadium-bearing mica was destroyed,and the vanadium-containing oxides were beneficial to the chlorinating volatilization of gold and zinc.Eventually,the chlorinated volatiles of gold and zinc could be recovered by alkaline solution.

Fluidized roasting reduction kinetics of low-grade pyrolusite coupling with pretreatment of stone coal

Based on the fluidized roasting reduction technology of low-grade pyrolusite coupling with pretreatment of stone coal, the manganese reduction efficiency was investigated and technical conditions were optimized. It is found that the optimum manganese reduction efficiency can be up to 98.97% under the conditions that the mass ratio of stone coal to pyrolusite is 3：1, the roasting temperature of stone coal is 1000℃, the roasting temperature of pyrolusite is 800℃, and the roasting time is 2 h. Other low-grade pyrolusite ores in China from Guangxi, Hunan, and Guizhou Provinces were tested and all these minerals responded well, giving -99% manganese reduction efficiency. Meanwhile, the reduction kinetic model has been established. It is confirmed that the reduction process is controlled by the interface chemical reaction. The apparent activation energy is 36.397 kJ/mol.

Extraction of valuable metals from Ti-bearing blast furnace slag using ammonium sulfate pressurized pyrolysis−acid leaching processes

A novel method of extracting valuable metals from Ti-bearing blast furnace slag(TBBF slag)via pressure pyrolysis of recyclable ammonium sulfate(AS)−acid leaching process was proposed.The results show that when pressurized roasting at an AS-to-slag mass ratio 3:1 and 370℃for 90 min,the extraction rates of titanium,aluminum and magnesium reached 94.5%,91.9%and 97.4%,respectively.The acid leaching solution was subjected to re-crystallization in a boiling state to obtain a titanium product having a TiO2 content of 94.1%.The above crystallization mother liquor was adjusted to pH=6 and pH≥12.2,respectively,and then qualified Al2O3 and MgO products were obtained.The analysis through XRD and SEM−EDS proves that the main phases in roasted samples were NH4AlSO4,CaSO4 and TiOSO4.The thermodynamic analysis presents that the main minerals of perovskite,spinel and diopside in raw ore could spontaneously react with the intermediate produced by AS under optimal conditions.

Reductive leaching of manganese from low-grade pyrolusite ore in sulfuric acid using pyrolysis-pretreated sawdust as a reductant

Manganese （Mn） leaching and recovery from low-grade pyrolusite ore were studied using sulfiaric acid （H2SO4） as a leachant and pyrolysis-pretreated sawdust as a reductant. The effects of the dosage of pyrolysis-pretreated sawdust to pyrolusite ore, the concentration of sulfuric acid, the liquid/solid ratio, the leaching temperature, and the leaching time on manganese and iron leaching efficiencies were inves- tigated. Analysis of manganese and iron leaching efficiencies revealed that a high manganese leaching efficiency was achieved with low iron extraction. The optimal leaching efficiency was determined to be 20wt% pyrolysis-pretreated sawdust and 3.0 mol/L H2SO4 using a liq- uid/solid ratio of 6.0 mL/g for 90min at 90℃. Other low-grade pyrolusite ores were tested, and the results showed that they responded well with manganese leaching efficiencies greater than 98%.

Reductive leaching of low-grade manganese ore with pre-processed cornstalk

Cornstalk is usually directly used as a reductant in reduetive leaching manganese. However, low utilization of cornstalk makes low manganese dissolution ratio, In the research, pretreatment for cornstalk was proposed to improve manganese dissolution ratio. Cornstalk was preprocessed by a heated sulfuric acid solution （1.2 M of sulfuric acid concentration） for 10 min at 80℃. Thereafter, both the pretreated solution and the residue were used as a reductant for manganese leaching. This method not only exhibited superior activity for hydrolyzing cornstalk but also enhanced manganese dissolution. These effects were attributed to an increase in the amount of reductive sugars resulting from lignin hydrolysis. Through acid pretreatment for cornstalk, the manganese dissolution ratio was improved from 50.14% to 83.46%. The present work demonstrates for the first time the effective acid pretreatment of cornstalk to provide a cost-effective reductant for manganese leaching.

Preparation of sodium manganate from low-grade pyrolusite by alkaline predesilication-fluidized roasting technique

Low concentration alkaline leaching was used for predesilication treatment of low-grade pyrolusite. The effects of initial NaOH concentration, liquid-to-solid ratio, leaching temperature, leaching time and stirring speed on silica leaching rate were investigated and the kinetics of alkaline leaching process was studied. The results show that silica leaching rate reached 91.2% under the conditions of initial NaOH concentration of 20%, liquid-to-solid ratio of 4：1, leaching temperature of 180 ℃, leaching time of 4 h and stirring speed of 300 r/min. Shrinking-core model showed that the leaching process was controlled by the chemical surface reaction with activation energy Ea of 53.31 k J/mol. The fluidized roasting conditions for preparation of sodium manganate were optimized by the orthogonal experiments using the desiliconized residue. The conversion rate of sodium manganate was obtained to be 89.7% under the conditions of silica leaching rate of 91.2%, NaOH/MnO2 mass ratio of 3：1, roasting temperature of 500 ℃ and roasting time of 4 h, and it increased with the increase of silicon leaching rate.