Recent trends in metals extraction

After near 70 years of practical usage, solvent extraction is a perfectly mastered technique of separation, widely used on an industrial scale for the separation of metals mainly from raw materials. However, currently, in the era of depleting natural resources and increasingly less accessible deposits, environmental restrictions, etc., an increasing interest, both from social and economical constrains, is being directed at the extraction of metals from the secondary sources (such as batteries, electronic scrap). In many cases, solvent extraction, due to its operational characteristics, can be considered as the Best Available Technology for the purpose of separating multielemental metal solutions. This paper provides a brief overview of past achievements and present scenario of solvent extraction investigations and developments, describing some recently commissioned solvent extraction plants, whereas the Skorpion Zinc plant (Namibia) for zinc extraction from raw materials and caesium removal from radioactive High Level Wastes (HLWs) are told over in detail as case studies. The paper also presents some proposals for the use of liquid-liquid extraction to separate metal ions from secondary sources (e.g. cobalt from industrial waste streams). The review highlights the emerging use of ionic liquids as new extractants for metals, providing an insight into this exciting research field. Despite its detractors, solvent extraction has entered in force into XXI century as a leading separation technology for metals.Peer Reviewe

A review of acid recovery from acidic mining waste solutions using solvent extraction

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Uchenna Kesieme, Andreas Chrysanthou, Maurizio Catulli, and Chu Yong Cheng, ‘A review of acid recovery from acidic mining waste solutions using solvent extraction’, Journal of Chemical Technology and Biotechnology, (2018), which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1002/jctb.5728. Under embargo until 1 July 2019. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.The minerals industry is increasingly being forced by regulatory and cost pressures to reduce the amount of liquid acidic waste they produce. This requires a strong focus on waste reduction by recycling, regeneration and reuse. Four mineral acids were examined for recovery from waste acidic solutions including H 2SO 4, HNO 3, HCl, and H 3PO 4. The selection of the optimal extractant for acid recovery was based on extraction, stripping and scrubbing efficiencies. The extractants suitable for the recovery of H 2SO 4 and HCl are in the order of TEHA > Cyanex 923 > TBP > Alamine 336. TEHA has the highest degree of acid extraction and stripping compared with Cyanex 923 and almost 99% of the acid can be stripped. Alamine 336 can extract higher acid (for H 2SO 4 and HCl systems) than Cyanex 923 and TBP. However loaded acid for Alamine 336 system cannot be stripped using water at 60°C. For the recovery of nitric and phosphoric acids from acidic waste effluents, TBP was the best option. This work clearly demonstrates that extractant suitable for acid extraction may not be suitable for its recovery. However such extractant may be applied for the removal of acid from any waste acidic solution sacrificing the back extraction of the loaded acid. The effective implementation of options for acid recovery was examined to improve sustainability in the mineral industry.Peer reviewe

\u3csup\u3e13\u3c/sup\u3eC NMR Analysis of Biologically Produced Pyrene Residues by \u3cem\u3eMycobacterium\u3c/em\u3e sp. KMS in the Presence of Humic Acid

Cultures of the pyrene degrading Mycobacterium sp. KMS were incubated with [4-13C]pyrene or [4,5,9,10-14C]pyrene with and without a soil humic acid standard to characterize the chemical nature of the produced residues and evaluate the potential for bonding reactions with humic acid. Cultures were subjected to a “humic acid/humin” separation at acidic pH, a duplicate separation followed by solvent extraction of the humic acid/humin fraction, and a high pH separation. 13C NMR analysis was conducted on the resulting solid extracts. Results indicated that the activity associated with solid extracts did not depend on pH and that approximately 10% of the added activity was not removed from the solid humic acid/humin fraction by solvent extraction. 13C NMR analysis supported the conclusion that the majority of pyrene metabolites were incorporated into cellular material. Some evidence was found for metabolite reaction with the added humic material, but this did not appear to be a primary fate mechanism

Solvent extraction aplied to the recovery of heavy metals from galvanic sludges

In this study, a hydrometallurgical treatment involving the solvent extraction and recovery of some heavy metals from a sulphuric acid leach solution of galvanic sludge, using di-(2-ethylhexyl)-phosphoric acid (D2EHPA) and bis-(2,4,4- trimethylpentyl)-phosphinic acid (Cyanex 272), both diluted in kerosene, has been investigated. The preliminary tests revealed the necessity to remove other metal species than zinc and nickel, contained in the leach solution, and therefore, processes to cement copper and precipitate chromium were then applied to finally obtain a Zn and Ni pregnant solution prior to solvent extraction. For the experimental conditions studied, Cyanex 272 showed a good recovery of Zn after the stripping stage using H2SO4, but D2EHPA effectively promoted a higher Zn extraction than Cyanex 272 did. The dependence of the solvent extraction method on variables such as pH, contact time and concentration of extractant, as well as the effect of different concentrations of sulphuric acid on stripping, are discussed. The discussion also includes the previous conditions developed to separate the main interfering metallic species from the leach solution in order to improve the extraction and recovery of zinc by solvent extraction. The final objective has been to achieve a solution as pure as possible to recover nickel sulphate.Estudou-se o desenvolvimento de um processo metalúrgico para a extracção de metais a partir de lamas galvânicas, passando por fases e extracção com solventes orgânico

The optimal use of tris-2-ethylhexylamine to recover hydrochloric acid and metals from leach solutions and comparison with other extractants

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of the following article: Uchenna Kesieme, Andreas Chrysanthou, Maurizio Catulli, and Chu Yong Cheng, ‘The optimal use of tris-2-ethylhexylamine to recover hydrochloric acid and metals from leach solutions and comparison with other extractants’, Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering, Vol. 6 (2): 3177-3184, April 2018. Under embargo until 1 May 2019. The final, definitive version is available online via: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2018.05.001This paper describes the use of TEHA for HCl recovery from a leach solution generated by a hydrometallurgical plant. Four organic extractants were tested including TEHA, Alamine 336, Cyanex 923 and TBP. TEHA organic system performed best in terms of acid extraction, stripping and scrubbing efficiency. The successive extraction shows that more than 99% HCl was extracted after three stages of extraction. Scrubbing tests with different A/O ratios at different temperatures were conducted to identify the optimal conditions to separate HCl, Mn and Fe. After scrubbing the loaded organic solution at an A/O ratio of 1:4 and 22 °C, 94–100% of entrained metals were removed in a single contact with only 5.2% acid lost in the loaded scrub liquor. It was found that the phase disengagement time was in the range of 2– 4 min for both extraction and stripping, indicating reasonable fast phase separation. Based on these results from batch tests, it can be expected that after optimisation in a counter current circuit consisting of extraction, scrubbing, selective and bulk stripping, nearly all metals and HCl would be recovered and recycled.Peer reviewe

Microalgae cultivation for lipids and carbohydrates production

Microalgae are photoautotrophic microorganisms that can produce energy both by using sunlight, water and CO2 (phototrophic metabolism) and by using organic sources such as glucose (heterotrophic metabolism). Heterotrophic growth is a key factor in microalgae research, due to its increased productivity and the lower capital and operative costs compared to photoautotrophic growth in photobioreactors. Carbohydrate production from microalgae is usually investigated for the production of biofuels (e.g. bioethanol) by successive fermentation, but also other applications can be envisaged in biopolymers. In this work an increment in carbohydrate purity after lipid extraction was found. Protein hydrolysis for different microalgae strains (Scenedesmus sp. and Chlorella sp.) was investigated. Microalgae were cultivated under photoautotrophic or heterotrophic conditions, collecting biomass at the end of the growth. Biomass samples were dried or freeze dried and used for carbohydrate and lipid extraction tests. Lipid extraction was achieved using different organic solvents (methanol-chloroform and hexane-2propanol). Basic protein hydrolysis has been carried out testing different temperatures and NaOH concentrations values. Lipids were spectrophotometrically quantified, while residual biomass was saccharificated and the total amount of sugars was measured. Significant differences about the purity of extracted carbohydrates were found comparing dried with freeze dried biomass. However, not a very promising purification of carbohydrates was achieved after protein hydrolysis, asking for further analysis. © Copyright 2017, AIDIC Servizi S.r.l

Turbulent flow in pulsed extraction columns with internals of discs and rings:Turbulent kinetic energy and its dissipation rate during the pulsation

Turbulent energy parameters of single-phase pulsed flow in an extraction column with internals of immobile discs and rings (doughnuts) are studied. Simulation results are obtained by resolution of Reynolds equations coupled with k–ɛ model of turbulence. As far as pulsed flow is concerned, the evolution of space distribution of turbulent kinetic energy k and its dissipation rate ɛ during the pulsation is thoroughly studied. It is observed that the energy distribution on a contact stage changes periodically from rather homogeneous to highly inhomogeneous depending on instantaneous flow velocity. Significant difference between maximal and mean energy parameters is observed. It is supposed that the discrepancy between simulation and experimental results for the size of drops formed in the turbulent field might be attributed to mean energy presentation that smoothes the peak effects of a pulsed flow. Spatial zones and time intervals of high-turbulent kinetic energy are delimited presuming their dominant role for accurate foreseeing of size of drops in this type of equipment. It is shown that an “effective” energy level should be determined by selection over the high-energy time periods and zones in order to compensate the smoothing effect of mean energy level.The results obtained are useful for the calculation of drop size based on energy level at the stage, which is necessary for the determination of parameters of practical interest such as drop residence time and interphase mass transfer surface