Method for enriching lithium from clay lithium ore

Abstract

The invention belongs to the technical field of mineral resource utilization, and particularly relates to a method for enriching lithium from clay lithium ore. A step-by-step sorting process is adopted, so that the sorting efficiency can be improved. In the first scrubbing process, along with dissociation of lithium-containing clay minerals, the viscosity of ore pulp can be obviously increased, friction among ore particles is reduced, and the scrubbing effect is weakened. Through implementation of step-by-step scrubbing and step-by-step sorting, dissociated lithium-containing clay minerals can be sorted out as concentrates in time, high-quality lithium-containing concentrates are obtained, and the subsequent scrubbing effect can be enhanced. Furthermore, the invention provides the green enrichment process of the lithium ore, no medicament is introduced in the whole implementation process, the generated wastewater can be recycled by 100%, the process is green, environment-friendly and pollution-free, and the sustainable development of dressing plants can be realized.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of mineral resource utilization, and particularly relates to a method for enriching lithium from clay lithium ore. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, clay lithium ore, as a new type of lithium resource, has attracted wide attention globally. Although the lithium content in clay lithium ore is lower than that in salt lakes and traditional hard rock ores, its resource volume is huge, it is widely distributed, and it contains various associated elements such as potassium, aluminum, iron, titanium, calcium, and silicon, having high comprehensive development value. The mining of clay lithium ore has relatively little impact on the environment and is easy to adopt continuous mining methods, with high mining flexibility.

[0003] The main extraction technical routes for clay lithium ore mainly include direct acid leaching method and high-temperature calcination - water leaching method, etc. The direct acid leaching method directly leaches lithium by using strong acids such as sulfuric acid, with simple operation, but high acid consumption and high treatment cost for the waste liquid after treatment. The high-temperature calcination - water leaching method first treats the clay at high temperature to change its structure for facilitating the dissolution of lithium, but it has high energy consumption, high cost, and low extraction rate of lithium, and cannot fully explore the comprehensive value of clay lithium ore.

[0004] Therefore, there is still a need to develop new comprehensive utilization technologies for clay lithium ore to meet the full extraction of lithium resources and further promote the sustainable and healthy development of the lithium-ion battery and energy storage industries. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a method for enriching lithium from clay lithium ore, and the method provided by the present invention can fully extract lithium from clay lithium ore.

[0006] To achieve the above purpose, the present invention provides the following technical solutions:

[0007] The present invention provides a method for enriching lithium from clay lithium ore, comprising the following steps:

[0008] Sequentially subjecting the clay lithium ore to first scrubbing and first screening and classification to obtain a first pulp and first coarse particles;

[0009] Subjecting the first pulp to first hydrocyclone separation to obtain a first concentrate and second coarse particles;

[0010] After mixing the first coarse particles and the second coarse particles, sequentially subjecting them to second scrubbing and second screening and classification to obtain a second pulp and a first tailing;

[0011] Subjecting the second pulp to second hydrocyclone separation to obtain a second concentrate and a second tailing.

[0012] Preferably, the particle size of the clay lithium ore ≤ 20 mm.

[0013] Preferably, the clay lithium ore contains the following components in mass percentage: Li 2 2O 0.2 - 0.6%, quartz 10 - 50% and calcite 10 - 50%.

[0014] Preferably, the reagent used for the first scrubbing is water, and the mass concentration of the slurry during the first scrubbing is 20 - 60%;

[0015] The time of the first scrubbing is 20 - 240 min.

[0016] Preferably, the aperture of the sieve used for the first screening and classification is 0.038 - 0.3 mm.

[0017] Preferably, the reagent used for the first hydrocyclone separation is water, and the mass concentration of the slurry during the first hydrocyclone separation is 5 - 30%;

[0018] The condition parameters of the first hydrocyclone separation are: the hydrocyclone separation pressure is 0.2 - 0.6 MPa, and the diameter of the underflow orifice is 2 - 6 mm.

[0019] Preferably, the reagent used for the second scrubbing is water, the mass concentration of the slurry during the second scrubbing is 20 - 60%, and the time of the second scrubbing is 20 - 240 min.

[0020] Preferably, the aperture of the sieve used for the second screening and classification is 0.038 - 0.3 mm.

[0021] Preferably, the reagent used for the second hydrocyclone separation is water, and the mass concentration of the slurry during the first hydrocyclone separation is 5 - 30%;

[0022] The condition parameters of the second hydrocyclone separation are: the hydrocyclone separation pressure is 0.2 - 0.6 MPa, and the diameter of the underflow orifice is 2 - 6 mm.

[0023] Preferably, after the second hydrocyclone separation, it further includes mixing the first concentrate and the second concentrate to obtain the final concentrate product; mixing the first tailings and the second tailings to obtain the final tailings product.

[0024] The present invention provides a method for enriching lithium from clay lithium ore, which includes the following steps: sequentially subjecting the clay lithium ore to first scrubbing and first screening and classification to obtain a first pulp and first coarse particles; subjecting the first pulp to first hydrocyclone separation to obtain a first concentrate and second coarse particles; mixing the first coarse particles and the second coarse particles, and then sequentially subjecting them to second scrubbing and second screening and classification to obtain a second pulp and first tailings; subjecting the second pulp to second hydrocyclone separation to obtain a second concentrate and second tailings.

[0025] The present invention adopts a step-by-step separation process, which can improve the separation efficiency. During the first scrubbing process, with the dissociation of lithium-bearing clay minerals, the viscosity of the pulp will increase significantly, reducing the friction between ore particles and weakening the scrubbing effect. The implementation of step-by-step scrubbing and step-by-step separation can timely separate the dissociated lithium-bearing clay minerals as concentrates, obtaining high-quality lithium-bearing concentrates and strengthening the subsequent scrubbing effect.

[0026] Furthermore, the present invention provides a green enrichment process for lithium ore, without any reagents introduced throughout the process, and the wastewater generated can be recycled 100%, which is green, environmentally friendly and pollution-free, and can achieve the sustainable development of the concentrator. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0027] Figure 1 Schematic flow diagram of the method provided by the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0028] The present invention provides a method for enriching lithium from clay lithium ore, comprising the following steps:

[0029] Subjecting the clay lithium ore to first scrubbing and first screening and classification in sequence to obtain a first pulp and first coarse particles;

[0030] Subjecting the first pulp to first hydrocyclone separation to obtain a first concentrate and second coarse particles;

[0031] After mixing the first coarse particles and the second coarse particles, subjecting them to second scrubbing and second screening and classification in sequence to obtain a second pulp and a first tailing;

[0032] Subjecting the second pulp to second hydrocyclone separation to obtain a second concentrate and a second tailing.

[0033] The present invention subjects the clay lithium ore to first scrubbing and first screening and classification in sequence to obtain a first pulp and first coarse particles.

[0034] In the present invention, the particle size of the clay lithium ore (i.e., the raw ore) is preferably ≤20 mm, specifically it can be ≤2 mm, ≤5 mm, ≤10 mm, ≤15 mm, ≤20 mm. In the present invention, the clay lithium ore preferably contains the following components in mass percentage: Li 2 O 0.2 - 0.6%, quartz 10 - 50% and calcite 10 - 50%.

[0035] In the present invention, the reagent used for the first scrubbing is preferably water. During the first scrubbing, the mass concentration of the slurry is preferably 20-60%, specifically it can be 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%. In the present invention, the time for the first scrubbing is preferably 20-240 min, specifically it can be 20 min, 60 min, 120 min, 180 min, 240 min. The present invention has no special limitation on the process of the first scrubbing, and those well-known to those skilled in the art can be adopted. In the present invention, through the first scrubbing, clay lithium ore can be dissociated from calcite and quartz.

[0036] In the present invention, the aperture of the sieve mesh used for the first screening and classification is preferably 0.038-0.3 mm. The present invention has no special limitation on the process of the first screening and classification, and the process well-known to those skilled in the art can be adopted. In the present invention, the purpose of the first screening is to separate out coarse-grained calcite, quartz and their intergrowths with lithium minerals.

[0037] After obtaining the first slurry, the present invention performs first hydrocyclone separation on the first slurry to obtain a first concentrate and second coarse particles.

[0038] In the present invention, the reagent used for the first hydrocyclone separation is preferably water. During the first hydrocyclone separation, the mass concentration of the slurry is preferably 5-30%, specifically it can be 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%; the condition parameters for the first hydrocyclone separation are: the hydrocyclone separation pressure is preferably 0.2-0.6 MPa, specifically it can be 0.2 MPa, 0.3 MPa, 0.4 MPa, 0.5 MPa, 0.6 MPa; the underflow orifice diameter is preferably 2-6 mm, specifically it can be 2 mm, 3 mm, 4 mm, 5 mm, 6 mm. The present invention has no special limitation on the process of the first hydrocyclone separation, and those well-known to those skilled in the art can be adopted. In the present invention, the purpose of the first hydrocyclone separation is to separate out fine-grained calcite, quartz and their intergrowths with lithium minerals, and at the same time obtain a concentrate of clay lithium ore product.

[0039] After obtaining the first coarse particles and the second coarse particles, the present invention mixes the first coarse particles and the second coarse particles and then successively performs second scrubbing and second screening and classification to obtain a second slurry and a first tailing.

[0040] In the present invention, the reagent used for the second scrubbing is preferably water. During the second scrubbing process, the mass concentration of the slurry is preferably 20 - 60%, specifically it can be 20%, 30%, 40%, 50%, 60%. The time for the second scrubbing is preferably 20 - 240 min, specifically it can be 20 min, 60 min, 120 min, 180 min, 240 min. In the present invention, the purpose of the second scrubbing is to further dissociate the intergrowth of lithium minerals with calcite and quartz.

[0041] In the present invention, the aperture of the sieve used for the second screening and classification is preferably 0.038 - 0.3 mm. In the present invention, the purpose of the second screening is to separate out coarse - grained calcite, quartz, and the first tailings.

[0042] After obtaining the second slurry, the present invention performs second hydrocyclone separation on the second slurry to obtain a second concentrate and a second tailings.

[0043] In the present invention, the reagent used for the second hydrocyclone separation is preferably water. During the second hydrocyclone separation, the mass concentration of the slurry is preferably 5 - 30%, specifically it can be 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25%, 30%. The condition parameters for the second hydrocyclone separation are: the hydrocyclone separation pressure is preferably 0.2 - 0.6 MPa, specifically it can be 0.2 MPa, 0.3 MPa, 0.4 MPa, 0.5 MPa, 0.6 MPa; the diameter of the underflow orifice is preferably 2 - 6 mm, specifically it can be 2 mm, 3 mm, 4 mm, 5 mm, 6 mm. In the present invention, the purpose of the second hydrocyclone separation is to separate out fine - grained calcite and quartz, namely the second tailings, and at the same time obtain a concentrate of clay lithium ore products.

[0044] In the present invention, after the second hydrocyclone separation, it is further preferred to mix the first concentrate and the second concentrate to obtain a final concentrate product; mix the first tailings and the second tailings to obtain a final tailings product. In the present invention, the mass percentage content of Li 2 O in the final concentrate product is preferably 0.8 - 1.0%.

[0045] Unless otherwise specified, the materials and equipment used in the present invention are all commercially available products in the art.

[0046] Next, the technical solutions in the present invention will be clearly and completely described in conjunction with the embodiments in the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0047] Example 1

[0048] In this embodiment, the particle size of the clay lithium ore is ≤5 mm. By mass percentage, it includes Li 2 O 0.56%, quartz 19%, calcite 31%;

[0049] The clay lithium ore is successively subjected to the first scrubbing and the first screening and classification to obtain the first pulp and the first coarse particles; wherein the time of the first scrubbing is 180 min, and the mass concentration of the pulp during the scrubbing process is 50%; the aperture of the sieve used for the first screening and classification is 0.15 mm;

[0050] The first pulp is subjected to the first hydrocyclone separation to obtain the first concentrate and the second coarse particles; wherein the mass concentration of the pulp during the first hydrocyclone separation is 20%, the hydrocyclone separation pressure is 0.4 MPa, and the diameter of the underflow orifice is 4 mm;

[0051] After mixing the first coarse particles and the second coarse particles, they are successively subjected to the second scrubbing and the second screening and classification to obtain the second pulp and the first tailings; wherein the time of the second scrubbing is 180 min, and the mass concentration of the pulp during the scrubbing process is 50%; the aperture of the sieve used for the second screening and classification is 0.15 mm;

[0052] The second pulp is subjected to the second hydrocyclone separation to obtain the second concentrate and the second tailings; wherein the mass concentration of the pulp during the second hydrocyclone separation is 15%, the hydrocyclone separation pressure is 0.4 MPa, and the diameter of the underflow orifice is 4 mm;

[0053] Mix the first concentrate and the second concentrate to obtain the final concentrate product, wherein the content of Li 2 O in the concentrate is 0.83%, and the recovery rate of Li 2 O is 75.15%.

[0054] Example 2

[0055] In this embodiment, the particle size of the clay lithium ore is ≤5 mm. By mass percentage, it includes Li 2 O 0.56%, quartz 19%, calcite 31%;

[0056] The clay lithium ore is successively subjected to the first scrubbing and the first screening and classification to obtain the first pulp and the first coarse particles; wherein the time of the first scrubbing is 180 min, and the mass concentration of the pulp during the scrubbing process is 50%; the aperture of the sieve used for the first screening and classification is 0.15 mm;

[0057] The first pulp is subjected to the first hydrocyclone separation to obtain the first concentrate and the second coarse particles; wherein the mass concentration of the pulp during the first hydrocyclone separation is 20%, the hydrocyclone separation pressure is 0.4 MPa, and the diameter of the underflow orifice is 4 mm;

[0058] After mixing the first coarse particles and the second coarse particles, second scrubbing and second screening and classification are carried out in sequence to obtain a second pulp and a first tailing; wherein the time of the second scrubbing is 180 min, and the mass concentration of the pulp during the scrubbing process is 50%; the aperture of the sieve used for the second screening and classification is 0.15 mm;

[0059] The second pulp is subjected to second hydrocyclone separation to obtain a second concentrate and a second tailing; wherein the mass concentration of the pulp during the second hydrocyclone separation is 20%, the hydrocyclone separation pressure is 0.3 MPa, and the diameter of the underflow orifice is 4 mm;

[0060] Mix the first concentrate and the second concentrate to obtain a final concentrate product, wherein the content of Li 2 O in the concentrate is 0.81%, and the recovery rate of Li 2 O is 76.01%.

[0061] Example 3

[0062] In this example, the particle size of the clay lithium ore is ≤5 mm, and by mass percentage, it includes Li 2 O 0.56%, quartz 19%, calcite 31%;

[0063] The clay lithium ore is subjected to first scrubbing and first screening and classification in sequence to obtain a first pulp and a first coarse particle; wherein the time of the first scrubbing is 180 min, and the mass concentration of the pulp during the scrubbing process is 50%; the aperture of the sieve used for the first screening and classification is 0.15 mm;

[0064] The first pulp is subjected to first hydrocyclone separation to obtain a first concentrate and a second coarse particle; wherein the mass concentration of the pulp during the first hydrocyclone separation is 20%, the hydrocyclone separation pressure is 0.3 MPa, and the diameter of the underflow orifice is 3 mm;

[0065] After mixing the first coarse particle and the second coarse particle, second scrubbing and second screening and classification are carried out in sequence to obtain a second pulp and a first tailing; wherein the time of the second scrubbing is 180 min, and the mass concentration of the pulp during the scrubbing process is 50%; the aperture of the sieve used for the second screening and classification is 0.15 mm;

[0066] The second pulp is subjected to second hydrocyclone separation to obtain a second concentrate and a second tailing; wherein the mass concentration of the pulp during the second hydrocyclone separation is 15%, the hydrocyclone separation pressure is 0.4 MPa, and the diameter of the underflow orifice is 4 mm;

[0067] Mix the first concentrate and the second concentrate to obtain a final concentrate product, wherein the content of Li 2 O in the concentrate is 0.82%, and the recovery rate of Li 2 O is 75.68%.

[0068] Example 4

[0069] In this example, the particle size of the clay lithium ore is ≤5 mm. By mass percentage, it includes Li 2 O 0.56%, quartz 19%, and calcite 31%;

[0070] The clay lithium ore is successively subjected to the first scrubbing and the first screening classification to obtain the first pulp and the first coarse particles; among them, the time of the first scrubbing is 180 min, and the mass concentration of the pulp during the scrubbing process is 50%; the aperture of the sieve used for the first screening classification is 0.15 mm;

[0071] The first pulp is subjected to the first hydrocyclone separation to obtain the first concentrate and the second coarse particles; among them, the mass concentration of the pulp during the first hydrocyclone separation is 20%, the hydrocyclone separation pressure is 0.3 MPa, and the aperture of the underflow port is 3 mm;

[0072] After mixing the first coarse particles and the second coarse particles, they are successively subjected to the second scrubbing and the second screening classification to obtain the second pulp and the first tailings; among them, the time of the second scrubbing is 180 min, and the mass concentration of the pulp during the scrubbing process is 50%; the aperture of the sieve used for the second screening classification is 0.15 mm;

[0073] The second pulp is subjected to the second hydrocyclone separation to obtain the second concentrate and the second tailings; among them, the mass concentration of the pulp during the second hydrocyclone separation is 20%, the hydrocyclone separation pressure is 0.3 MPa, and the aperture of the underflow port is 4 mm;

[0074] Mix the first concentrate and the second concentrate to obtain the final concentrate product, in which the content of Li 2 O in the concentrate is 0.80%, and the recovery rate of Li 2 O is 76.77%.

[0075] Comparative Example 1

[0076] In this comparative example, the particle size of the clay lithium ore is ≤5 mm. By mass percentage, it includes Li 2 O 0.56%, quartz 19%, and calcite 31%;

[0077] The clay lithium ore is successively subjected to scrubbing and screening classification to obtain the pulp and the first coarse particles; among them, the time of scrubbing is 360 min, and the mass concentration of the pulp during the scrubbing process is 50%; the aperture of the sieve used for the screening classification is 0.15 mm;

[0078] The pulp is subjected to hydrocyclone separation to obtain the concentrate and the second coarse particles; among them, the mass concentration of the pulp during the hydrocyclone separation is 20%, the hydrocyclone separation pressure is 0.4 MPa, and the aperture of the underflow port is 4 mm;

[0079] The obtained concentrate contains Li2 The content of O is 0.85%, Li 2 The recovery rate of O is 59.32%.

[0080] It can be seen that compared with the step-by-step scrubbing and sorting, for the one-time scrubbing, although the Li 2 O content increases slightly, the Li 2 O recovery rate drops significantly.

[0081] Although the above embodiments have described the present invention in detail, they are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all embodiments. Other embodiments can be obtained based on these embodiments without creative efforts, and these embodiments all fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for enriching lithium from clay lithium ore, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: The clay lithium ore is subjected to a first scrubbing and a first screening and classification in sequence to obtain a first ore pulp and a first coarse particle; Performing a first cyclone separation on the first slurry to obtain a first concentrate and a second coarse particle; After mixing the first coarse particles and the second coarse particles, performing a second scrubbing and a second screening and classification in sequence to obtain a second ore pulp and a first tailings; The second slurry is subjected to a second cyclone separation to obtain a second concentrate and a second tailings.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The particle size of the clay lithium ore is ≤20mm.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The clay lithium ore comprises the following components in percentage by mass: 0.2-0.6% Li2O, 10-50% quartz and 10-50% calcite.

4. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The reagent used in the first scrubbing is water, and the mass concentration of the slurry during the first scrubbing is 20-60%; The first scrubbing time is 20 to 240 minutes.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The aperture of the screen used in the first screening and grading is 0.038-0.3 mm.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The reagent used in the first cyclone separation is water, and the mass concentration of the slurry during the first cyclone separation is 5-30%; The condition parameters of the first cyclone separation are: the cyclone separation pressure is 0.2-0.6 MPa, and the diameter of the sand settling port is 2-6 mm.

7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The reagent used in the second scrubbing is water, the mass concentration of the slurry during the second scrubbing is 20-60%, and the time of the second scrubbing is 20-240 minutes.

8. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The aperture of the screen used in the second screening and grading is 0.038-0.3 mm.

9. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The reagent used in the second cyclone separation is water, and the mass concentration of the slurry in the first cyclone separation is 5-30%; The condition parameters of the second cyclone separation are: the cyclone separation pressure is 0.2-0.6 MPa, and the diameter of the sand settling port is 2-6 mm.

10. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that After the second cyclone separation, the first concentrate and the second concentrate are mixed to obtain a final concentrate product; and the first tailings and the second tailings are mixed to obtain a final tailings product.

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