Leaching metals processing

Fig. 6. Roast-Leach electrowinning process for the production of zinc metal from a sulfide concentrate.

Virnig, M. J. Mackenzie, J. M. W. Wolfe, G. A. Boley, B. D. Nickel laterite processing Recovery of nickel from ammoniacal leach liquors. Miner. Metall. Process. 2001, 18, 18-24. 

Peters (5) Has reviewed the leaching of copper, nickel, zinc, lead and molybdenum concentrates in terms of the thermodynamic stability of the sulfide minerals of these metals. Process developments associated with the most favorable decomposition paths are considered. 

Large-scale leaching also occurs in the metal processing induslries. where useful metals frequently occur mixed with large quantities of unwanted matter, and leaching is used lo remove Ihe metals as soluble salts. 

An example of a noncovalent attachment of a metal-phosphine complex to a solid support is presented in Figure 31, as reported by Bianchini et al. (120). The complex is attached via a sulfonated variant of the "triphos" ligand, which is known for its successful application in several catalytic reactions. The ligand is attached to the silica by an ionic bond, which is stable in the absence of water. The catalyst was used for the hydroformylation of styrene and of hex-1-ene in batch mode and showed moderate activity. The triply coordinated rhodium atom is strongly boimd although the conditions were rather harsh (120 °C, 30 bar) the concentration of leached metal measured by atomic emission spectroscopy was at most at the parts per million level. However, for commercial applications, for example, in a process such as hydroformylation of bulk products, these concentrations should be less than 10 ppb 111,121). 

Immobilized metal affinity chromatography has been shown to be effective for isolating proteins from crude mixtures, as well as for selective separations of closely related proteins [2]. With respect to separation efficiency, IMAC compares well with biospecific affinity chromatography and the immobilized metalion complexes are much more robust than antibodies or enzymes. These factors make IMAC particularly well suited for scale-up to process scale chromatography. The main scale-up points to be aware of are the degree to which the column is metal saturated, the chelating agent content of the sample, and the potential of leached metal (or its interactions) within the product eluate. 

Wong, M M, Haver, F P and Sandberg, K G, 1980. Ferric chloride leach - Electrolysis process for the production of lead, in Proceedings Lead-Zinc 80 Conference, pp 445-454 (The Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (TMS) Warrendale and American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical and Petroleum Engineers (AIME) ... 

Microbial leaching of metals from ores is a promising adjunct to more aggressive metal recovery technologies (77), but is generally achieved by oxidative processes that generate very acidic waters. It seems unlikely that similar approaches will be of much value in removing contaminant metals and metalloids from soils. 

Other Metals. Because of the large number of chemical extractants available, virtually any metal can be extracted from its aqueous solution. In many cases extraction has been developed to form part of a viable process (275). A review of more recent developments in metal extraction including those for precious metals and rare earths is also available (262). In China a complex extraction process employing a cascade of 600 mixer—settlers has been developed to treat leach Hquor containing a mixture of rare earths (131). 

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