Methods For Recovering Cesium Or Rubidium Values From Ore Or Other Materials

Abstract

A method to liberate and recover cesium, rubidium, or both from ore or other material is described. The method involves heating the ore or other material in the presence of at least one reactant. The heating is such that it liberates at least a portion of the cesium or rubidium or both from the ore. Cesium or rubidium or both resulting from the method are further described.

Description

[0001]This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of prior U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 078,431, filed Nov. 12, 2014, which is incorporated in its entirety by reference herein.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]The present invention relates to liberating and / or recovering at least one metallic element from ore. More particularly, the present invention relates to methods for recovering cesium, rubidium, or both from ore or other material.[0003]Cesium salts, such as cesium formate, are increasingly being discovered as useful components or additives for a variety of industrial applications, such as in the hydrocarbon recovery areas. However, deposits of “primary” ore, that is, ore that contains high amounts of cesium with insignificant amounts of undesirable impurities, are rare, and operators have long sought techniques to enhance recovery of cesium and / or rubidium from known deposits of ore, such as primary ore and secondary ore, or other materials contain...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The present invention provides a method to effectively recover Cz and Rb from various types of gliadin-bearing ore and rubidium ore, whether they are high or low yield. This technique is efficient in extracting these elements from various sources, making it a versatile method for recycling and reusing them in various applications.

Problems solved by technology

However, deposits of “primary” ore, that is, ore that contains high amounts of cesium with insignificant amounts of undesirable impurities, are rare, and operators have long sought techniques to enhance recovery of cesium and / or rubidium from known deposits of ore, such as primary ore and secondary ore, or other materials containing cesium and / or rubidium.

However, cesium-containing secondary ore, while available, presents major problems with regard to recovering the cesium from such ore.

For instance, the expense of recovering significant amounts of cesium from low yield ore can be quite time consuming and expensive based on known methods.

These same problems also can exist with rubidium containing ore or ore containing cesium and rubidium.

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