Recovery of Valuable Metals from Polymetallic Refractory Concentrate by a Sulfuric Acid Curing and Leaching Method

Sulfuric acid curing and leaching is a promising technology for treating refractory ores. In this work, a refractory concentrate containing 3191 ppm uranium (U), 2135 ppm niobium (Nb), and 0.7% rare earth minerals (REMs) went through two stages: curing by high-concentration H<sub>2</sub>...

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Main Authors: Wei Jiang, Jilai Xue, Kaixi Jiang, Xunxiong Jiang, Shengdong Wang, Jinping Hu, Derek O. Northwood, Kristian E. Waters, Hao Ma
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-12-01
Series:Separations
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2297-8739/11/1/7
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author Wei Jiang
Jilai Xue
Kaixi Jiang
Xunxiong Jiang
Shengdong Wang
Jinping Hu
Derek O. Northwood
Kristian E. Waters
Hao Ma
author_facet Wei Jiang
Jilai Xue
Kaixi Jiang
Xunxiong Jiang
Shengdong Wang
Jinping Hu
Derek O. Northwood
Kristian E. Waters
Hao Ma
author_sort Wei Jiang
collection DOAJ
description Sulfuric acid curing and leaching is a promising technology for treating refractory ores. In this work, a refractory concentrate containing 3191 ppm uranium (U), 2135 ppm niobium (Nb), and 0.7% rare earth minerals (REMs) went through two stages: curing by high-concentration H<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub> and leaching by low-concentration H<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub>. We investigated the behavior of those valuable metals during the two stages. For both curing and leaching, the operating parameters include the acid-to-solid ratio, time, temperature, and H<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub> concentration. The recovery for U, Nb, and REMs was as high as 95%, 86%, and 73.5% using a curing acid-to-solid ratio of 1:1, curing temperature of 200 °C, curing time of 1 h, H<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub> concentration of 98%, leaching liquid-to-solid ratio of 4:1, leaching time of 2 h, leaching temperature of 60 °C, and leaching H<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub> concentration of 5 g/L. A “sulfuric acid curing–leaching-U extraction by N235–Nb recovery by resin adsorption–REMs’ recovery by resin adsorption” method was implemented, where the overall U, Nb, and REMs’ recovery reached 93.1%, 84.5%, and 69.6%, respectively.
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spelling doaj.art-9f8407e151b642a89564793948479d682024-01-26T18:27:23ZengMDPI AGSeparations2297-87392023-12-01111710.3390/separations11010007Recovery of Valuable Metals from Polymetallic Refractory Concentrate by a Sulfuric Acid Curing and Leaching MethodWei Jiang0Jilai Xue1Kaixi Jiang2Xunxiong Jiang3Shengdong Wang4Jinping Hu5Derek O. Northwood6Kristian E. Waters7Hao Ma8School of Metallurgical and Ecological Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, ChinaSchool of Metallurgical and Ecological Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing 100083, ChinaBGRIMM Technology Group, Beijing 100070, ChinaBGRIMM Technology Group, Beijing 100070, ChinaBGRIMM Technology Group, Beijing 100070, China224 Group Co., Ltd., SINO Shaanxi Nuclear Industry Group, Xi’an 710024, ChinaDepartment of Mechanical, Automotive and Materials Engineering, University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Avenue, Windsor, ON N9B 3P4, CanadaDepartment of Mining and Materials Engineering, McGill University, 3610 University Rd, Montreal, QC H3A 0C5, CanadaBGRIMM Technology Group, Beijing 100070, ChinaSulfuric acid curing and leaching is a promising technology for treating refractory ores. In this work, a refractory concentrate containing 3191 ppm uranium (U), 2135 ppm niobium (Nb), and 0.7% rare earth minerals (REMs) went through two stages: curing by high-concentration H<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub> and leaching by low-concentration H<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub>. We investigated the behavior of those valuable metals during the two stages. For both curing and leaching, the operating parameters include the acid-to-solid ratio, time, temperature, and H<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub> concentration. The recovery for U, Nb, and REMs was as high as 95%, 86%, and 73.5% using a curing acid-to-solid ratio of 1:1, curing temperature of 200 °C, curing time of 1 h, H<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub> concentration of 98%, leaching liquid-to-solid ratio of 4:1, leaching time of 2 h, leaching temperature of 60 °C, and leaching H<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub> concentration of 5 g/L. A “sulfuric acid curing–leaching-U extraction by N235–Nb recovery by resin adsorption–REMs’ recovery by resin adsorption” method was implemented, where the overall U, Nb, and REMs’ recovery reached 93.1%, 84.5%, and 69.6%, respectively.https://www.mdpi.com/2297-8739/11/1/7curingleachingpolymetallic orerecoveryrare metals
spellingShingle Wei Jiang
Jilai Xue
Kaixi Jiang
Xunxiong Jiang
Shengdong Wang
Jinping Hu
Derek O. Northwood
Kristian E. Waters
Hao Ma
Recovery of Valuable Metals from Polymetallic Refractory Concentrate by a Sulfuric Acid Curing and Leaching Method
Separations
curing
leaching
polymetallic ore
recovery
rare metals
title Recovery of Valuable Metals from Polymetallic Refractory Concentrate by a Sulfuric Acid Curing and Leaching Method
title_full Recovery of Valuable Metals from Polymetallic Refractory Concentrate by a Sulfuric Acid Curing and Leaching Method
title_fullStr Recovery of Valuable Metals from Polymetallic Refractory Concentrate by a Sulfuric Acid Curing and Leaching Method
title_full_unstemmed Recovery of Valuable Metals from Polymetallic Refractory Concentrate by a Sulfuric Acid Curing and Leaching Method
title_short Recovery of Valuable Metals from Polymetallic Refractory Concentrate by a Sulfuric Acid Curing and Leaching Method
title_sort recovery of valuable metals from polymetallic refractory concentrate by a sulfuric acid curing and leaching method
topic curing
leaching
polymetallic ore
recovery
rare metals
url https://www.mdpi.com/2297-8739/11/1/7
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