Cobalt hydrometallurgy

The liquid-liquid extraction (solvent extraction) process was developed about 50 years ago and has found wide application in the hydrometallurgy of rare refractory and rare earth metals. Liquid-liquid extraction is used successfully for the separation of problematic pairs of metals such as niobium and tantalum, zirconium and hafnium, cobalt and nickel etc. Moreover, liquid-liquid extraction is the only method available for the separation of rare earth group elements to obtain individual metals. 

Chalkley, M. E. Toirac, I. L. The acid pressure leach process for nickel and cobalt laterite. Part I review of operations at Moa. Hydrometallurgy and Refining of Nickel and Cohalt, Annual Hydrometallurgy Meeting of CIM, 27th, Sudbury, Ont., Aug. 17-20, 1997, 341-353. 

Sarangi, K. Reddy, B. R. Das, R. P. Extraction studies of cobalt (II) and nickel (II) from chloride solutions using Na-cyanex 272. Separation of Co(II)/Ni(II) by the sodium salts of D2EHPA, PC88A and Cyanex 272 and their mixtures. Hydrometallurgy 1999, 52, 253-265. 

Preston, J. S. Solvent extraction of cobalt and nickel by organophosphorus acids. I. Comparison of phosphoric, phosphonic, and phosphinic acid systems. Hydrometallurgy 1982, 9, 115-133. 

Nogueira, C. A. Delmas, F. New flowsheet for the recovery of cadmium, cobalt and nickel from spent Ni-Cd batteries by solvent extraction. Hydrometallurgy 1999, 52, 267-287. 

Cole, P. M. The introduction of solvent-extraction steps during upgrading of a cobalt refinery. Hydrometallurgy 2002, 64, 69-77. 

Tait, B. K. Cobalt Nickel Separation—the extraction of cobalt(II) and nickel(H) by Cyanex-301, Cyanex-302 and Cyanex-272. Hydrometallurgy 1993, 32, 365-372. 

Zhang, P. W. Inoue, K. Yoshizuka, K. Tsuyama, H. Extraction and selective stripping of molybdenum(VI) and vanadium(IV) from sulfuric acid solution containing aluminum(III), cobalt(II), nickel(II) and iron(III) by LIX 63 in Exxsol D80. Hydrometallurgy 1996, 41, 45-53. 

Mackenzie, J. M. W. Virnig, M. J. Boley, B. D. Wolfe, G. A. ALTA 1998 Nickel Cobalt Pressure Leaching and Hydrometallurgy Forum, Melbourne ALTA Metallurgical Services, 1988. 

Strzelbicki, J. and Schlosser, . (1989) Influence of surface-active substances on pertraction of cobalt(II) cations through bulk and emulsion liquid membranes. Hydrometallurgy, 23, 67. 

Strzelbicki J and Charewicz W. The liquid surfactant membrane separation of copper, cobalt and nickel from multicomponent aqueous solutions. Hydrometallurgy 1980 5 243-254. 

Large amounts of cobalt are produced by chloride hydrometallurgy. The large nickel-producing companies, Falcon-bridge in Norway and Sumitomo in Japan, have similar processes for cobalt production [77]. 

S. Makino, N. Kemori, N. Matsumoto, Removal of copper and other minor elements in the MCLE process in Hydrometallurgy of Nickel and Cobalt, 17-20 August 1997, (Eds. W. C. Cooper, I. Mihaylov), CIM, Sudbury, 1997, pp. 123-135. 

R. R. Grinstead, Selective Absorption of Copper, Nickel, Cobalt and Other Transition Metal Ions from Sulfuric Acid Solutions with the Chelating Ion Exchange Resin XFS4195, Hydrometallurgy, 12, pp. 387-400 (1984). 

Cobalt and Nickel Recovery. Cobalt and nickel are relatively valuable metals often found in complex ores such as laterites or deep sea nodules. The metals can only be extracted from these ores by hydrometallurgy. A proposed recovery scheme based on coupled transport is shown in Figure 9.29. The first membrane contains LIX 54, which produces a nickel and copper concentrate and a cobalt raffinate stream. The concentrate stream is then passed to a second Kelex 100 membrane, which produces a copper and nickel stream. The cobalt III raffinate stream is neutralized and reduced to cobalt II, which can then be concentrated by a LIX 51 membrane. 

Y. Wang, C. Zhou, Hydrometallurgical Process for the Recovery of Cobalt from Zinc Plant Residues , Hydrometallurgy, 63, 2002, 225-234... 

S. Agatzini, A. Kontopoulos, P. Marboutis, A. Xenidis, Removal of iron from iron-nickel-cobalt solutions by precipitation and solvent extraction techniques. Iron Control in Hydrometallurgy, ed. J.E. Dutrizac, A.J. Monhemius, Ellis Norwood Ltd, 1986 (CIM, Montreal, Quebec, 1996), 353-373. 

D.T White, Commercial Development of the Magnesia Mixed Hydroxide Process for Recovery of Nickel and Cobalt from Laterite Leach Solutions, Hydrometallurgy of Nickel and Cobalt 2009, J.J. Budac, R. Fraser, I. Mihaylov, V. G. Papangelakis and D.J. Robinson, Eds., CIM, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, 2009, 351-367. 

K. Osseo-Asare, Application of activity-activity diagrams to ammonia hydrometallurgy II. The copper, nickel and cobalt ammonia water systems at elevated temperatures , Process Fundamental Considerations in Selected Hydrometallurgy Systems, M. Kuhn (Editor), AIME, New York, 1981, pp. 360-369. 

K. Osseo-Asare, D. Fuerstenau, Adsorption phenomena in hydrometallurgy. 1. The uptake of copper, nickel and cobalt by oxide adsorbents in aqueous ammoniacal solutions . International Journal of Mineral Processing, 6 (2) (1979), pp. 85-104. 

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