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Extraction of Metals from Nickel Concentrate by Low-Temperature NH4HSO4 Roasting-Water Leaching and Efficient Separation of Iron and Copper

  • Pyrometallurgical Techniques Driving Recycling and the Circular Economy
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Abstract

Aiming at the problems of high energy consumption and low metal recovery in traditional smelting of nickel concentrate, a novel process, namely NH4HSO4 roasting followed by water leaching to simultaneously extract metals and then separate them step by step, was proposed. The effect of some key factors on the extraction of metals was investigated by orthogonal experiments, and the optimal sulfated roasting conditions were determined as: concentrate particle size 75–80 µm, roasting time 180 min, roasting temperature 400°C and N/C 8:1. The metal extractions were 94.2% for nickel, 97.0% for copper and 96.4% for cobalt; also 81.9% iron and 67.7% Mg were sulfated. The clinker was selectively roasted at 600°C for 2 h to convert soluble iron salts into water-insoluble iron oxides, followed by conducting oxidation neutralization of the leaching solution; 97.1% of iron could be removed. Solvent extraction of copper from iron-removed solution was carried out with LIX984, and the extraction of Cu could reach 99.0%, while the losses of Ni, Co and Mg were < 2.0%. When the organic phase was back-extracted with 3–5 mol/L sulfuric acid for 2–6 min, the back-extraction of copper could reach 99.5%.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 52074069, 52174314), the Natural Science Foundation of Hebei Province (Nos. E2020501022, E2021501029, E2022501030), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. N2223027), the Science and Technology Project of Hebei Education Department (No. ZD2021331) and Performance subsidy fund for Key Laboratory of Dielectric and Electrolyte Functional Material Hebei Province (No. 22567627H) for the financially supported of this research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Northeastern University, Shenyang, 110819, Liaoning, China

    Liying Li, Wenning Mu, Peng Zhong, Shouming Du, Xuefei Lei & Shaohua Luo

  2. School of Resources and Materials, Northeastern University at Qinhuangdao, Qinhuangdao, 066004, Hebei, China

    Liying Li, Wenning Mu, Peng Zhong, Shouming Du, Xuefei Lei & Shaohua Luo

  3. Key Laboratory of Dielectric and Electrolyte Functional Material Hebei Province, School of Resources and Materials, Northeastern University at Qinhuangdao, Qinhuangdao, 066004, China

    Wenning Mu, Xuefei Lei & Shaohua Luo

  4. Key Laboratory of Resources Cleaner Conversion and Efficient Utilization Qinhuangdao City, Qinhuangdao, 066004, Hebei, China

    Wenning Mu, Xuefei Lei & Shaohua Luo

  5. College of Metallurgy and Energy, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan, 063210, Hebei, China

    Le Wang

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  1. Liying Li
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Correspondence to Wenning Mu.

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Li, L., Mu, W., Zhong, P. et al. Extraction of Metals from Nickel Concentrate by Low-Temperature NH4HSO4 Roasting-Water Leaching and Efficient Separation of Iron and Copper. JOM 75, 3435–3445 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-023-05886-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11837-023-05886-4

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