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By Beatriz Amarai Campos, Jorge Alberto Soares Tenorio1, Denise Crocce Romano Espinosa, Adriana Johanny Murcia Santanilla

"The aim of the present work is to investigate the recovery of nickel from obsolete cell phones printed circuit boards. The printed circuit boards were firstly submitted to a grinding process and then leached in sulfuric acid. Nickel was extracted from aqueous solution using Cyanex 272. Aqueous/organic ratio was 1/1. The effect of both pH and modifier addition on selectivity of extraction was investigated.IntroductionCurrently, electric and electronic equipments (EEE) have become a necessity to the modern life. Associated with this necessity comes the continuous and increasing replacement of those equipments by new ones. The accelerated technology advances are responsible for the generation of electric and electronic waste. This waste can be dangerous not only to human health but also to the environment. Waste of electric and electronic equipments (WEEE) has a variety of components and metals in its composition becoming a potential pollutant to the environment when not properly discarded. Its wrong disposal causes a loss of materials that could be recovered and reused. Therefore WEEE treatment is an important matter because it can assist the reduction of waste generated and the recovery of valuable metals.Printed circuit board (PCBs) is an essential component of EEE and is typically very complex from a chemical point of view. Several metals may be present in its composition, such as cooper, nickel, iron, zinc, lead, tin and silver1''. This characteristic hinders the development of a simple treatment, making it necessary the application of chemical and mechanical processing for their recycling'4'. The UN estimates that approximately 20 to 50 million of tonnes of WEEE are generated worldwide each year."

Jan 1, 2011

By F. Barriga-Ordonez, J. A. Finch, L. Calzado, S. R. (Ram) Rao

Sludge, formed by lime treatment of acidic drainage and stored in tailing ponds of the Sudbury region, contains 5-7% Ni, mostly in a mix of hydroxides with Fe (~ 10%), Mg (~ 10%) and Cu (-0.5%), and Ca (-3.5%) as sulphate. Investigations were conducted to recover nickel by a 2-stage process. In the first stage, the sludge was leached with sulphuric acid at pH 3.2. About 90% of the nickel was extracted, producing a solution, which contained mainly nickel (2 g/L) and magnesium (3.7 g/L). In the second stage, nickel was separated by treating with ozone which recovered 99% of the nickel in the Ni(III) oxidation state as -85% pure nickel oxide-hydroxide (NiOOH) precipitate. The oxide settled and filtered readily. A potential use of the product in battery making is suggested. The leach residue contained 0.5% Ni making it less toxic for disposal. Some physical properties of nickel oxy-hydroxide and process parameters including ozone consumption will be discussed.

Jan 1, 2005

By Mikiya Tanaka, Mikio Kobayashi, Mansour A. S. A1Ghamdi, Kenji Tatsumi, Yukinori Saiki, Hirotaka Senba

"In order to recover nickel ion in a spent electroless nickel - phosphorus alloy plating bath and, at the same time, to remove impurities such as iron and zinc, the applicability of solvent extraction with LlX84I as the extractant has been investigated using actual spent solution. Although the extraction efficiency of nickel from the spent solution is considerably lower than that from the nickel sulfate-nitrate solution, nickel in the spent solution is selectively extracted with high efficiency at the pH of 6 - 7. The extracted nickel is effectively stripped by sulfuric acid at a pH of less .than· 3. On the basis of these results, a· flowsheet for recovering nickel from the spent solution is proposed Chemical equilibrium calculations of the spent solution has shown that the complex formations of nickel with anions such as lactate and phosphonate ions become predominant in the pH range between 2 and 6. This results in the depression of nickel extraction efficiency from the spent solution as compared with that from the .nickel sulfate-nitrate solution. By combining these aqueous equilibrium calculations with the· extraction model considering the extraction stoichiometry and the aggregation of the extractant in the organic phase, the extraction behavior of nickel is quantitatively predicted.IntroductionElectroless plating is indispensable for the recent advanced industries such as the electronic and mechanical industries. Electroless plating baths are repeatedly used by supplying the metal salts; however, the accumulation of the counter anions of the metal ions, the components formed by the oxidation of the reducing reagents in the plating baths, and the metal ions as impurities dissolved from the surface of the objective materials degrades the· quality of the plating. Thus, the baths are finally treated by a precipitation method to form a large amount of metal sludge, which is disposed in dumping sites. Therefore, from the standpoints of environmental protection and resource preservation, it is highly desired to establish a recycling process of the plating baths with minimum emission. Solvent extraction seems to be one of the 'suitable methods to recover metals from the spent electroless plating baths, because the concentration of the metal ion in the baths is relatively high, which is advantageous to solvent extraction as compared with the ion-exchange and adsorption methods. Some studies about the application of solvent extraction have already been carried out using simulated spe11t electroless plating baths [1-3]."

Jan 1, 2000

By J. L. Holman

The Bureau of Mines is investigating recovery of Ni, Co, Cr, and other metals from mixed contaminated supera110y scrap. The scrap is melt-refined and cast into anodes for electrodeposition of recyclable Ni-Co alloy. Melt oxidation using roasted superalloy grinding sludge as oxygen source can divert the Cr to the slag but with excessive Ni-Co loss. Melt oxidation-carburization or direct melt carburization retains -95 pct of the Ni-Co in the anode alloy. With direct carburization, -90 pct or more of the Cr and other refractory metals report to the anode alloy, largely as carbide phases insoluble in electrolysis. Electrorefining data relate parameters such as controlled cathode potential, Fe and Cr impurities, pH, and compartmented cell use, to current efficiency and Ni-Co deposit quality. Recovery of -90 pct of the Ni-Co in the scrap can be achieved. Preliminary experiments to recover Cr, W, and other metals from the anode sludge and other byproducts are discussed. 347

Jan 1, 1987

By H. Pempel, J. Markowski, P. Ay

"Metal-coated thermoplastic parts find more and more functional and aesthetic applications in the interior and exterior of cars. The vapor-deposited or electroplated coatings are usually composed of a plurality of nickel- and chromium-containing layers, which are applied to copper-containing carrier layers on the polymers. Previously, recycling processes are mainly focussed at the recovery or thermal utilization of the plastics. Targeted and selective recycling of the metallic coatings is usually not carried out. Together with several SME, BTU developed a process, in which a complete and separate recovery of all components in high purity is possible with biotechnological methods. The bioleaching is carried out with iron and sulfur-oxidizing bacteria, especially Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans. The copper-containing layers are dissolved in the solution; chromium- and nickel-containing particles are precipitated as solids. After the bioleaching, a mechanical separation of the individual metal-containing components and their separate workup are carried out. End-products are metallic copper, a nickel- and chromium-containing solid and the cleaned plastics. The bioleaching ensures a high purity of the end products. Through the use of bacteria, which are also found in nature, the process is environmentally friendly. Compared to chemical leaching using inorganic acids, considerably shorter leaching times can be achieved. In addition to the optimization of the leaching process, the R/D-project also includes the development and testing of the apparatus technology.INTRODUCTION The material complexity of many end-user products has increased in recent years, especially in the fields of electrical appliances, vehicle technology and medical technology. However, the demands on functionality, safety, comfort and energy efficiency still play a greater role in product design as factors such as sustainability and usability. For example, if a car still holds more than 70% of steel in the 1980s, a vehicle nowadays includes a larger proportion of a variety of difficultly separable plastics and composite materials, as well as complex metal composites. This relates in particular to composites made from such different materials as metals and plastics. The processing and recovery of the components of those complex material mixtures is difficult for recycling companies."

Jan 1, 2017

By David B. Spencer

This paper describes a process for separating non-ferrous metals such as aluminum, copper and zinc, from other residential and industrial waste by means of permanent magnets. Although the separator may be used in the recovery of non-ferrous metals from auto scrap, most of the testing to date has been aimed at recovery of non-ferrous metals from municipal solid waste, especially recovery of aluminum from the heavy fraction of a resource recovery plant. In most resource recovery plants the incoming solid waste material is first shredded and then air classified into a light and a heavy fraction. The light fraction which contains mostly paper, cardboard, etc., can be used either as a fuel for power generation or in the production of new paper products. The heavy fraction which remains consists mostly of glass, ceramics, wood, ferrous metals and non-ferrous metals. The ferrous metals may be removed from the heavy fraction by conventional magnetic separators. After primary shredding, most of the glass and ceramic is fine in size and may be screened away leaving a residue of wood, cardboard, and non-ferrous metals. This residual heavy fraction is the input material for the separator described in the present paper.

Jan 1, 1975

By E. Martinez

A heavy mineral sand sample was tested containing 13% heavy mineral consisting of rutile, zircon, and ilmenite. Eleven tests were run at a mill site with a Mineral Deposit Limited MG 4 spiral to determine the effect of the addition 0; magnets to the spiral compared to conventional gravity separation. Different magnet configurations and field strengths were tested. Optimum results were obtained with the spiral retrofitted with magnets. The heavy mineral content of the concentrate was increased from 55.5% in the control to 64.2% with the magnets. The 8.7% improvement in heavy mineral recovery was due not only to the weakly-magnetic ilmenite, but also to increased recoveries if the non-magnetic zircon and rutile. The increased recoveries were achieved with no loss of concentrate grade.

Jan 1, 1992

By McCarthy P. L

With production at Olympic Dam scheduled to commence in June 1988, it has been necessary to install a complete underground ore handling system capable of removing two million tonnes of material annually from the mine. The system comprises mucking from stope drawpoints, truck haulage to underground storage, primary crushing, conveying and hoisting. On the surface, material is conveyed to stockpiles at the Metallurgical Plant. Mining of the numerous special excavations within the system was incorporated into the mine's ongoing development program prior to the underground construction phase. Utilisation of a decline from the surface enabled versatile construction equipment to operate at the underground sites as well as simplifying the transportation and delivery of construction Materials.

Jan 1, 1988

Results of the study of chloride ion concentration effect to osmium-187 sorption from wastewater of copper smelter with use of foreign anionites of different basicity and structure are presented in the work. It was found that the increase of chloride ion concentration in the wastewater helps to increase recovery of osmium using anionites regardless of their nature. The ways to intensify the process are proposed. The method for osmium elution from the anionites with potassium iodate solution was developed. It was shown that the method lets to recover up to 99% of osmium from the anionites. Recommendations for selection of eluents for better recovery of osmium from the anionites were elaborated. Keywords: wastewater, osmium, anionite, sorption, chloride ions, eluent, recovery

Sep 1, 2012

By Felicia F. Peng

One of the serious environmental problems related with the extraction of coal for carbon and energy resources is that upon preparation of coal a large quantity of fine coal has been discarded and/or lost to tailing impoundments. These problems present hazardous conditions to the local community. Also, the precious heating value of energy resources has been wasted and Left unrecovered in the tailing impoundments. Both RCR and SMRC ACTs recognize and mandate an investigation into slurry impoundment problems, including consideration of potential use of those coal fines in the tailing ponds. Bituminous coal producing district 46 encompasses the northern panhandle of West Virginia. The major producing seam in this district is the Pittsburgh coal, 1-7 meters thick. 75 percent of the coal producted in this district is deep mine. This district produces approximately 3 million tons of coal waste materials annually. One of the coal preparation plants in the district which we have visited has been processing Pittsburgh too. 8 seam coal for the past ten years. The characteristic data of the Pittsburgh raw coal is shown in Table 1. The raw coal produced in this district is characterized by its high heating value, high ash and high sulfur contents. The coal preparation plant flowsheet designed and used to process this Pittsburgh raw coal prior to 1979 is shown in Figure 1. It was a partial coal cleaning plant' with 1 092 mt/hr designed capacity, which consisted mainly of a coarse coal cleaning circuit. The rejected fine particles in the size range of -600µm which consisted of vorsiv underflow and cyclone underflow from clean coal streams and spiral classifier overflow from refuse stream were settled down in a thickener with the aid of anionic flocculant prior to being pumped to the tailing ponds for disposal. Figure 2 shows that the same coal preparation plant in Figure 1 was modified to a semi-complete coal cleaning plant and expanded its designed capacity to 1 820 mt/hr, when market of coal fines becomes feasible in 1979. Tabling in the clean coal circuit and thermal dryer in the dewatering circuit were added to the flow sheet. The purpose is to recover more coal fines, reduce more pyritic sulfur and ash contents in coal and also to reduce solid waste material to be stored into the slurry impoundment, giving them a Longer Life. The rejected fine particles fed to the thickener are clean coal fines from two cyclone overflows and the fine refuse from the rufuse cyclone overflow. The clean coal fines presently lost to the tailing impoundments are in the size range of -150 µm and constitute about 5 percent of the overall plant feed. Total amount of tailing waste material accumulated in a tailing impoundment is estimated at 1.3 million metricton for the past ten years.

Jan 1, 1982

By M. C. Ruiz, M. E. Godoy, J. B. Rivarola, M. W. Ojeda

The amount of Pd recovered from an exhausted olefin hydrogenation catalyst was found to depend on mixing technique, particle size, carbon percentage, chlorine flow, reaction time and temperature. Pd extraction was total when a sample in the 125-175 micrometre particle size range was chlorinated for 60 min at 723 K with 20 cm3 Cl2/min, for 60 min at 748 K with 30 cm3 Cl2/min and for 30 min at 773 K with 30 cm3 Cl2/min. No C addition was needed; the initial C content of the catalyst was sufficient for total recovery. Pd extraction was also affected by heat treatment in different atmospheres before chlorination. Treatment with O2, N2 and N2 with traces of O2 led to different degrees of oxidation of C and permitted the formation of oxidised Pd species. Thermal pretreatment in N2 with traces of O2 was most conducive to Pd extraction

Jun 21, 1905

By Paula Ana Paiva

The high economic value and unique technological properties of the platinum-group metals (PGMs), plus their growing scarcity in the Earth’s crust, justify the crucial importance of developing recycling practices for PGMs end-of-life materials. Examples of top devices relying on the use of PGMs are automotive and industrial catalysts, and electrical and electronics equipment. This article critically describes the most recent research on the use of solvent extraction to recover one PGM, palladium, from spent catalysts. Some groups focus on the development of schemes involving commercial extractants, while others prefer to design specific molecules to efficiently and selectively recover palladium from these particular complex leaching solutions. Examples of commercial extractants proposed for the former schemes are Alamine® 308, TBP and LIX® 84I; while on the other hand, sulfur-containing diamides, thioamides, thiocarbamates, and dithioethers have recently been developed. Ionic liquids have to be mentioned too.

By Junji Shibata

Through-hole copper plating is performed to make a multi-layer printed circuit board. The through hole plating is first carried out by Pd catalyst treatment, followed by copper non-electric plating. The amount of Pd catalyst used in one plant is about 0.25-2 m3/month (8 g/dm3 PdCl2 base) depending on the plant scale, and the cost of the catalyst reaches 17,000¬I35,000 US$/month. In this study, the flow and material balance of a Pd in Pd catalyst treatment process was investigated. About 60% of Pd catalyst adheres on the through-hole and other part of setup, while 25% is released into the washing liquor. Pd in the washing liquor should be collected by a suitable method like a pressure filtration using diatomite. The material balance of Pd in Pd catalyst treatment process and the recovery method of Pd from waste solution containing Pd catalyst was investigated.

Jan 1, 2003

Recovery of Pentlandite and Chalcopyrite from Tailings by Bi-Cyclone Powerful Flotation Column

Sep 13, 2010

By John A. Bonucci

AMAX Base Metals R&D, Inc. has developed technology for extracting and recovering platinum and palladium from spent automobile exhaust emission control catalyst. Our most promising route is a chloride-based hydrometallurgical flowsheet in which catalyst pellets or crushed monoliths are leached in HC1 with an oxidant at 95°C without agitation. Alumina co-dissolution can be limited by thermal pre-treatment of the catalyst. The leach solutions are treated by one of several precious metals recovery techniques to produce a high grade PGM concentrate. For the new generation of three-way catalytic converters which contain rhodium, an H2S04 preleach could selectively extract much of the rhodium while leaving the platinum and palladium behind. Capital and operating costs will be discussed.

Jan 1, 1984

By P. Zhang

Phosphate mining in Florida generates approximately 100,000 tons/day of phosphatic clays (slime). This waste slime not only creates one of the most difficult disposal problems in the mining industry, but also causes tremendous loss of P2O5. About 20-30% of the phosphate mined end up in phosphatic clays. Recovering the phosphate from this waste is difficult for two main reasons: 1) the slime is extremely fine in size, and 2) clay minerals account for almost half of the material. A half dozen dispersants were evaluated for keeping the clay minerals suspended for subsequent separation from non-clay minerals by either settling or cycloning. The separation efficiency and economics are discussed.

Jan 1, 1998

By P. Zhang

Previous studies have shown that separation of clay minerals from non-clay minerals is the key to economic recovery of the phosphate from the waste phosphatic clays (slime) which represent about 20- 300/0 of the phosphate mined. Small hydrocyclones of different sizes (4" and 6") were tested for sizing the slime at +10 microns in order to remove most of the clay minerals. The effect of design variables and operating parameters were evaluated. Multi-stage cycloning and the effect of dispersant were also investigated. Chemical and mineralogical analyses of different size fractions of both the underflow and overflow samples indicated satisfactorily separation efficiency.

Jan 1, 1998

By C. E. Jordan

The Tuscaloosa Metallurgy Research Center of the Bureau of Mines, U.S. Department of the Interior, is investigating the recovery of phosphate from beneficiation slime, as part of the Bureau's efforts to conserve mineral resources through increased use of wastes. Phosphate equivalent to about two-fifths of U.S. production is discarded annually in the wastes. Exploratory flotation tests on the plus 5-um fraction of a slime sample showed promise for a classification-flotation technique. Onsite classification tests at six phosphate washing plants were conducted with a two-stage hydro cyclone system designed to recover the plus 5-um material. The cyclone underflows contained 8.3 to 19.1 percent P2O5, and the recovery of the plus 5-um PZOS values ranged from 81 to 95 percent. The percent P2O5 recovery from the total slimes ranged from 38 to 47 percent. Batch-flotation studies are currently being conducted.

Jan 1, 1978

By S. A. Beeson, C. Poole

This paper describes the development of a novel selective flocculation technique for recovering phosphate values from ores containing silicate or carbonate gangue minerals. Data from initial flocculation response and reagent adsorption studies on component mineral suspensions and synthetic mixtures were used to assess the influence of various process parameters (e.g., reagent dosages, particle size, solids concentration, and conditioning regimes) on single-stage selective flocculation tests involving natural silicate and carbonate ores. In these tests a high degree of selectivity was achieved using low dosages of a low-molecular-weight cationic dispersant and a mid-range molecular weight cationic flocculant. Testwork was then extended to the evaluation of several floc recovery systems (sedimentation, hydrocyclones, and floc flotation) in a multi-stage process involving redispersion and reflocculation. Results from these tests clearly demonstrated the feasibility of producing marketable phosphate concentrates from both ore types.

Jan 1, 1999

By N. Abdel-Khalek, A. Youssef

The tailings from beneficiation of Florida phosphate ore contain considerable phosphate values. These tailings are currently discharged into large disposal areas. More than three million tons of P2O5 are discarded with the phosphatic slimes (clays) in Florida each year. These phosphatic clays not only create one of the most difficult disposal problems in the mining industry, but also represent a tremendous loss of P2O5. As the quality and quantity of Florida’s phosphate reserves diminish, recovery of phosphate values from these wastes becomes more vital. This will also significantly lengthen the life of these important phosphate resources. Thus, it is the goal of this study is to recover more than 80% of the phosphate values in phosphatic clays. A systematic study to characterize samples taken from inactive disposal area has been conducted. The data suggest that natural segregation takes place in the settling pond. In other words, coarser particles settle closer to the feeding point of the pond. Flotation tests were conducted using the +325 mesh fraction of samples obtained from sites close to the feeding point (sample# A) and further from that point (sample# B) and (sample# C) which is even further away from the feeding point. The results show the following: Sample# A gives the highest grade and recovery, followed by that of # B and then of # C. There is a great potential to upgrade sample# A where concentrates of high grade (68.9-70.1 % BPL or 31.5- 32.1% P2O5) and recovery (~86.6-95.4 %) can be obtained under the investigated operating conditions (1.0 – 2.0 kg/ton sodium silicate and 1.5—3.0 kg/ton collector mixture of fatty acid and fuel oil). The mineralogical and chemical analysis of all samples is presented in this paper for comparison. Only in this paper, the flotation data of (site # A) are discussed below.

Jan 1, 2002