INCO, process

Concentration of sulfur dioxide in the combustion gases As high as 80% - very well suited for processing to sulfuric acid or sulfur or liquid sulfur dioxide Not as high as Inco process... 

Throughput (equipment size same) 30% higher than Outokumpu process 30% lower than Inco process... 

In the INCO process the matte is crushed and a nickel alloy is magnetically separated. This fraction also contains the cobalt. The alloy is melted and granulated, and the nickel is volatilized as Ni(CO),inthe carbonyl process. The residue is dissolved and cobalt obtained as cathode plates in an electrolytic process. 

Processes based on the absorption of SO2 in ammonia solutions have been commercialized in Japan, Russia, and Germany, while development work on advanced concepts has been conducted in France and the United States (Breed and HoUinden, 1974). As of 1993, there were four commercial ammonia scrubbing processes the Walther, ATS Technology , General Electric (GEESI), and the Nippon Kokan (NKK) processes. The ABS and the Com-inco processes, described in the next section, have seen no development since 1979 and 1985, respectively (Patterson, 1992 Meyer, 1992). 

The Inco flash smelting process produces a very high strength sulfur dioxide gas by using pure oxygen for smelting. Liquid sulfur dioxide is obtained upon compression. 

Table 4.1 Comparison between Inco and Outokumpu processes for copper smelting.

Robbins, G.H. 1996. Historical development of the INCO S02/AIR cyanide destruction process. Canad. Mining Metall. Bull. 89 (1003) 63-69. 

INCO [International Nickel Company] An electrolytic process for extracting nickel from nickel sulfide matte. The matte is melted and cast into anodes. Electrolysis with an aqueous electrolyte containing sulfate, chloride and boric acid dissolves the nickel and leaves the sulfur, together with precious metals, as an anode slime. Operated in Manitoba by International Nickel Company of Canada. 

Slow-cooled matte A process for extracting platinum metals from copper-nickel matte. The molten matte is cooled slowly, over several days. This causes the platinum metals to enter a nickel-iron phase which can be separated magnetically from the other components. Operated by Rustenberg Platinum Mines in South Africa, and INCO in Canada. 

Mass Spectrometry (MS), A Hewlett-Packard 5930A mass spectro-meter was interi aced with a Tracor 222 GC. The ionization potential was 70 eV and the scanning limits were 33 to 450 amu. Scanning and data processing were accomplished with a FINNIGAN/INCOS 2300 mass spectrometer data system. A novel injection system (18) was used in place of the standard injection port in conjunction with the GC/MS system. 

E. SNAPE obtained his BS and PhD degrees in Metallurgical Engineering from the University of Leeds in 1965. During his research career with Inco, he received numerous awards for his work on stress corrosion and hydrogen embrittlement, and became an international authority on this subject. In 1974, Dr. Snape pioneered the development of a waste reclamation process which now is being applied to the recovery... 

CombinOx A process, used in mining operations, for destroying waste cyanide by oxidation with Caro s acid and sulfur dioxide. Developed in 2002 by CyPlus (a subsidiary of Degussa) and Inco. 

Mond nickel A process for extracting nickel from its ores by the intermediary of the volatile nickel tetracarbonyl. Sulfide ores are first roasted to convert sulfides to oxides, and then reduced by heating in hydrogen and carbon monoxide (water gas). The crude metal is caused to react with carbon monoxide at 50°C, producing Ni(CO)4, which is subsequently decomposed at 180 to 200°C. Invented by L. Mond and C. Langer in 1889, piloted at the works of Henry Wiggin Company in Smethwick, Scotland in 1892, and subsequently commercialized on a large scale in Swansea, South Wales, where it still operates (under the ownership of CVRD Inco). A new plant was built in Canada in 1986. 

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