Ultra fast microwave-assisted leaching for the recovery of copper and tellurium from copper anode slime

The decomposition of copper anode slime heated by microwave energy in a sulfuric acid medium was investigated. Leaching experiments were carried out in a multi-mode cavity with microwave assistance. The leaching process parameters were optimized using response surface methodology（RSM）. Under the optimized conditions, the leaching efficiencies of copper and tellurium were 99.56% ± 0.16% and 98.68% ± 0.12%, respectively. Meanwhile, a conventional leaching experiment was performed in order to evaluate the influence of microwave radiation. The mechanism of microwave-assisted leaching of copper anode slime was also investigated. In the results, the microwave technology is demonstrated to have a great potential to improve the leaching efficiency and reduce the leaching time. The enhanced recoveries of copper and tellurium are believed to result from the presence of a temperature gradient due to the shallow microwave penetration depth and the superheating at the solid-liquid interface.

Study on mechanisms of different sulfuric acid leaching technologies of chromite

The extraction of chromate from chromite via the sulfuric acid leaching process has strong potential for practical use because it is a simple and environmentally friendly process. This paper aims to study the sulfuric acid leaching process using chromite as a raw material via either microwave irradiation or in the presence of an oxidizing agent. The results show that the main phases in Pakistan chromite are ferrichromspinel, chrompicotite, hortonolite, and silicate embedded around the spinel phases. Compared with the process with an oxidizing agent, the process involving microwaves has a higher leaching efficiency. When the mass fraction of sulfuric acid was 80% and the leaching time was 20 min, the efficiency could exceed 85%. In addition, the mechanisms of these two technologies fundamentally differ. When the leaching was processed in the presence of an oxidizing agent, the silicate was leached first and then expanded. By contrast, in the case of leaching under microwave irradiation, the chromite was dissolved layer by layer and numerous cracks appeared at the particle surface because of thermal shock. In addition, the silicate phase shrunk instead of expanding.

Direct microwave leaching conditions of rare earth elements in fluorescent wastes

The luminescent phosphor powder in the fluorescent lamp constitutes 2%of the lamp’s weight.It can be mentioned that fluorescent wastes are a crucial raw material to produce rare earth oxides.In the present study,microwave leaching process was conducted to dissolve rare earth elements yttrium(Y),europium(Eu),and remaining rare earth elements(REEs)present in the phosphor powder of the fluorescent lamp.and the yields were compared.In the microwave leaching process,the effects of the temperature(80-160℃),acid type(hydrochloric acid(HCl),nitric acid(HNO_(3)),sulphuric acid(H_(2)SO_(4))),acid concentration(0.5-6 mol/L),solid to liquid ratio(0.1:10-0.5:10)and reaction time(5-90 min)parameters on leaching efficiencies of varying rare earth elements and calcium were investigated.The highest yield was obtained in the direct microwave leaching of fluorescent waste with the experimental conditions of 6 mol/L HCl,160℃,0.1:10 solid-to-liquid ratio(S:L),and 90 min.Activation energy calculations were made,and kinetic models of the reactions were obtained,and it is observed that Y and Eu dissolution is diffusion-controlled,on the other hand,lanthanum(La),cerium(Ce),and terbium(Tb)were examined to be chemical reaction controlled.Moreover,calcium(Ca)and gadolinium(Gd)seem coherent with the mixed model.Concurrently,mathematical models of all experimental studies are created with the response surface Box-Behnken method and the correlation coefficients of all the models are over 90%.

Decomposition of the mixed rare earth concentrate by microwave-assisted method

A novel process was proposed to strengthen the decomposition of the mixed rare earth concentrate by utilizing the microwave radiation.Mineralogical information on the mechanisms by which microwave heating improved the leaching behavior of rare earth elements（REEs）,and an interpretation of the interrelationship between mineralogy,decomposition process,and leaching process were provided in this study.The influences of the temperature,time of microwave heating and contents of NaO H（mass ratio of NaO H to mixed rare earth concentrate）on the decomposition of mixed rare earth concentrate were investigated.The results revealed that the temperature was the main factor affecting the decomposition process.The recovery of REEs by hydrochloric acid leaching reached 93.28% under the microwave heating conditions：140 oC,30 min and 35.35% NaO H.The BET specific surface area and SEM analysis indicated that the particles of mixed rare earth concentrate were non-hole,while the particles presented a porous structure after heating the concentrate by microwave radiation.For the microwave treated sample after water leaching,the BET specific surface area was 11.04 m^2/g,which was higher than the corresponding values（6.94 m^2/g）for the mixed rare earth concentrate.This result could be attributed to the phase changes of bastnaesite and monazite,and a number of cracks induced by thermal stress.The increase of BET specific surface area resulted in an increase of the recovery of REEs by promoting interaction within the system of acid leaching.