A method for magnesium-manganese separation in hydrometallurgy of lateritic nickel ore

Abstract

The present invention discloses a method for magnesiummanganese separation in the hydrometallurgical process of lateritic nickel ore, which belongs to the field of hydrometallurgical technology. The method involves subjecting the acid leachate of lateritic nickel ore to sequential ironaluminum slag sedimentation treatment and nickel-cobaltmanganese sedimentation treatment, resulting in a postsedimentation liquid of nickel-cobalt-manganese. Subsequently, an excess of carbon dioxide is introduced into the post- sedimentation liquid, and under the action of gas flotation, carbon dioxide reacts fully with magnesium and manganese ions in the liquid, forming an emulsion. This emulsion, under the influence of gravity, achieves upper and lower layer separation, resulting in upper and lower emulsions. Further, the upper and lower emulsions are subjected to pressure filtration to obtain magnesium carbonate and manganese carbonate, respectively. The separation process realizes an efficient separation of magnesium and manganese ions in the post-sedimentation liquid of nickelcobalt-manganese, and the entire separation process is simple, environmentally friendly, and suitable for large-scale promotion and application. Additionally, the separated products after calcination can be recycled, improving the utilization rate of the separation products

Description

[0001] Description

[0002] A METHOD FOR MAGNESIUM-MANGANESE SEPARATION IN HYDROMETALLURGY

[0003] OF LATERITIC NICKEL ORE

[0004] Field Of The Disclosure

[0005] The present invention relates to the field of hydrometallurgical technology, speci fically to a method for magnesium-manganese separation in hydrometallurgy of lateritic nickel ore .

[0006] Background

[0007] Lateritic nickel ore is formed by the long-term weathering and metamorphism of ultramafic rocks containing iron-magnesium silicate minerals . The upper layer is of the limonite type , mainly composed of iron oxides , the middle is a transition layer, and the lower layer is the silicate nickel ore layer . Lateritic nickel ore is rich in resources , low in mining cost , and its beneficiation process is becoming mature , which can produce various intermediate products such as nickel oxide and ferronickel , and it is a maj or source of nickel resources in the future .

[0008] At present , the wet acid leaching process is commonly used to extract nickel , cobalt , manganese , etc . , from lateritic nickel ore . Speci fically, the lateritic nickel ore ore is subj ected to a hydrometallurgical process of "mineral processing pretreatment - high pressure acid leaching - pre-neutrali zation CCD washing - iron and aluminum removal - nickel-cobalt- manganese sedimentation" to obtain nickel-cobalt-manganese hydroxide materials for preparing ternary precursors .

[0009] In this process , after the sedimentation of nickel-cobalt- manganese , the post-sedimentation liquid still contains a large amount of manganese and magnesium ions . However, the existing process usually does not carry out ef fective manganese-magnesium element separation treatment on the post-sedimentation liquid, resulting in the waste of these metal ions and causing resource waste . Therefore , a new treatment method is needed to solve the above problems in the existing technology .

[0010] Summary

[0011] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a method for magnesium-manganese separation in hydrometallurgy of lateritic nickel ore , which solves the problems in the existing lateritic nickel ore acid leaching process , where the postsedimentation liquid after the sedimentation of nickel-cobalt- manganese is not ef fectively separated for manganese and magnesium elements , leading to inef fective recovery and utili zation of these metal ions , resulting in resource waste .

[0012] In the first aspect , the present invention provides a method for magnesium-manganese separation in hydrometallurgy of lateritic nickel ore , including the following steps : S I , a neutrali zing agent is added to the acid leachate of lateritic nickel ore for reaction, and after the reaction, iron-aluminum slag sedimentation treatment is carried out to obtain a post- iron-aluminum removal liquid; S2 , a neutrali zing agent is added to the post-iron-aluminum removal liquid for nickel-cobalt- manganese sedimentation treatment , resulting in nickel-cobalt- manganese hydroxide and a post- sedimentation liquid of nickel- cobalt-manganese ; S3 , carbon dioxide is introduced into the post-sedimentation liquid of nickel-cobalt-manganese for gas flotation-gravity sedimentation treatment , resulting in an upper emulsion and a lower emulsion, and then the upper and lower emulsions are subj ected to pressure filtration to obtain magnesium carbonate and manganese carbonate , respectively .

[0013] In the present invention, the inventors found that after introducing an excess of carbon dioxide into the postsedimentation l iquid of nickel-cobalt-manganese , under the action of gas flotation, carbon dioxide reacts fully with magnesium and manganese ions in the post-sedimentation liquid, resulting in an emulsion . This emulsion, under the action of gravity, achieves upper and lower layer separation, resulting in an upper emulsion and a lower emulsion . Continuing to subj ect the upper and lower emulsions to pressure filtration, magnesium carbonate and manganese carbonate are obtained respectively. Through the above separation process, magnesium and manganese ions in the post-sedimentation liquid of nickel-cobalt-manganese are efficiently separated, and the entire separation process is simple, environmentally friendly, and suitable for large-scale promotion and application.

[0014] In some implementations, in step SI, the acid leachate of lateritic nickel ore includes the following components: iron 2- 5g / L, aluminum 4-8g / L, nickel 5-7g / L, cobalt 0.4-0.8g / L, manganese 3-5g / L, magnesium 6-10g / L.

[0015] In the acid leachate of lateritic nickel ore provided by the present invention, the content of iron, for example, can be 2g / L, 2.5g / L, 3g / L, 3.5g / L, 4g / L, 4.5g / L, 5g / L, or other values within this range; the content of aluminum, for example, can be 4g / L, 4.5g / L, 5g / L, 5.5g / L, 6g / L, 6.5g / L, 7g / L, 7.5g / L, 8g / L, or other values within this range; the content of nickel, for example, can be 5g / L, 5.5g / L, 6g / L, 6.5g / L, 7g / L, or other values within this range; the content of cobalt, for example, can be 0.4g / L, 0.5g / L, 0.6g / L, 0.7g / L, 0.8g / L, or other values within this range; the content of manganese, for example, can be 3g / L, 3.5g / L, 4g / L, 4.5g / L, 5g / L, or other values within this range; the content of magnesium, for example, can be 6g / L, 6.5g / L, 7g / L, 7.5g / L, 8g / L, 8.5g / L, 9g / L, 9.5g / L, lOg / L, or other values within this range.

[0016] In some embodiments, the neutralizing agent in step SI is selected from at least one of sodium hydroxide, sodium carbonate, magnesium oxide, and potassium hydroxide.

[0017] In some embodiments, the reaction step in step SI specifically includes: under the conditions of a pH value of 2-6 (which can be 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, or other values within this range) , and a temperature of 60-80°C (which can be 60°C, 65°C, 70°C, 75°C, 80°C, or other values within this range) , the reaction is carried out for 4-8 hours, for example, it can be 4 hours, 5 hours, 6 hours, 7 hours, 8 hours, or other values within this range .

[0018] The invention controls the pH value of the reaction to 2-3, causing iron and aluminum in the acid leachate of lateritic nickel ore to precipitate, achieving the removal of iron and aluminum. In some embodiments, during step SI, in the process of ironaluminum slag sedimentation treatment, there is also a step of adding clay, and the mass concentration of the clay is 5-10% (weight / volume, W / V) . For instance, it can be 5%, 6%, 7%, 8%, 9%, 10%, or other values within this range.

[0019] The mass concentration of clay in this invention refers to the ratio of the mass of clay to the volume of the acid leachate of lateritic nickel ore.

[0020] In the magnesium-manganese separation method of hydrometallurgy of lateritic nickel ore provided by the present invention, the iron and aluminum removal step usually involves adding alkali for reaction, causing iron and aluminum to form hydroxide precipitates that can settle, achieving separation of nickel, cobalt, and manganese in the leachate from iron and aluminum impurities. However, the iron and aluminum hydroxides formed are mostly present in the form of colloids, making the subsequent solid-liquid separation process difficult and incomplete. Based on this, the inventors further found that when clay is added during the iron and aluminum slag sedimentation process, since clay itself is a mineral with a negatively charged surface, it can adsorb iron and aluminum slag colloids to form larger flocs and accelerate sedimentation. At the same time, the negatively charged surface of clay can neutralize the positive charges of iron hydroxide colloid particles, reducing the electrostatic repulsion between colloid particles, promoting particle aggregation, forming larger flocs, and further improving the sedimentation effect on iron and aluminum slag colloids .

[0021] In some embodiments, the neutralizing agent in step S2 is selected from at least one of sodium hydroxide, sodium carbonate, magnesium oxide, and potassium hydroxide.

[0022] In some embodiments, the nickel-cobalt-manganese sedimentation treatment step in step S2 specifically includes: under the conditions of a pH value of 7-9 (which can be 7, 7.5, 8, 8.5, 9, or other values within this range) , and a temperature of 70-90°C (which can be 70°C, 75°C, 80°C, 85°C, 90°C, or other values within this range) , the reaction is carried out for 3-6 hours, for example, it can be 3 hours, 4 hours, 5 hours, 6 hours, or other values within this range .

[0023] In the present invention, by controlling the pH value in the nickel-cobalt-manganese sedimentation step to 7 - 8 , nickel , cobalt , and part of the manganese precipitate , and the obtained nickel-cobalt-manganese hydroxide is used to prepare a ternary precursor .

[0024] In some embodiments , the method also includes calcining the magnesium carbonate obtained in step S3 to obtain magnesium oxide and carbon dioxide .

[0025] In some embodiments , the method also includes reusing the magnesium oxide as a neutrali zing agent in the iron and aluminum slag sedimentation treatment step and the nickel-cobalt- manganese sedimentation treatment step .

[0026] In some embodiments , the method also includes reusing the carbon dioxide in the gas flotation-gravity sedimentation treatment step .

[0027] In the present invention, the separated magnesium carbonate is calcined to obtain the products magnesium oxide and carbon dioxide , both of which can be reused, further improving the utili zation rate of the separation products .

[0028] In some embodiments , the filtrate obtained by pressure filtration in step S3 can be mixed with a neutrali zing agent to obtain a neutrali zing solution, which is used to react with the acid leachate of lateritic nickel ore and the post-iron-aluminum removal liquid . Through the above treatment , the comprehensive utili zation of the filtrate is achieved .

[0029] The beneficial ef fects of the present invention are : di f ferent from the existing technology, the present invention achieves ef ficient separation of magnesium and manganese ions in the post-sedimentation liquid of nickel-cobalt-manganese by subj ecting the acid leachate of lateritic nickel ore to sequential iron and aluminum slag sedimentation treatment and nickel-cobalt-manganese sedimentation treatment , followed by introducing an excess of carbon dioxide into the postsedimentation l iquid of nickel-cobalt-manganese . Under the action of gas flotation, carbon dioxide reacts fully with magnesium and manganese ions in the post-sedimentation liquid, resulting in an emulsion . The emulsion, under the action of gravity, achieves upper and lower layer separation, resulting in an upper emulsion and a lower emulsion . Continuing to subj ect the upper and lower emulsions to pressure filtration, magnesium carbonate and manganese carbonate are obtained respectively . The entire separation process is simple , environmentally friendly, and suitable for large-scale promotion and application . In addition, the separated products after calcination can be reused, improving the utili zation rate of the separation products .

[0030] Brief Description Of The Drawings

[0031] FIG . l is a flowchart of the magnesium-manganese separation method in hydrometallurgy of lateritic nickel ore according to the present invention .

[0032] Detailed Description Of Preferred Embodiments

[0033] The following will describe the technical solutions of the present invention in the implementation examples in a clear and complete manner . Obviously, the described implementation examples are only part of the implementation examples of the present invention, not all implementation examples . Based on the implementation examples in the present invention, all other implementation examples obtained by ordinary technicians in the field without creative labor are within the scope of protection of the present invention .

[0034] The following will describe the technical solutions of the present invention in the implementation examples in a clear and complete manner . Obviously, the described implementation examples are only part of the implementation examples of the present invention, not all implementation examples . Based on the implementation examples in the present invention, all other implementation examples obtained by ordinary technicians in the field without creative labor are within the scope of protection of the present invention .

[0035] Please refer to FIG . l , which is a flowchart of the magnesiummanganese separation method in hydrometallurgy of lateritic nickel ore according to the present invention . Speci fically, the separation method includes the following steps : S I , a neutrali zing agent is added to the acid leachate of lateritic nickel ore for reaction, and after the reaction, iron and aluminum slag sedimentation treatment is carried out to obtain a post-iron and aluminum removal liquid; S2 , a neutrali zing agent is added to the post-iron and aluminum removal liquid for nickel-cobalt-manganese sedimentation treatment , resulting in nickel-cobalt-manganese hydroxide and a post-sedimentation liquid of nickel-cobalt-manganese ; S3 , carbon dioxide is introduced into the post-sedimentation liquid of nickel-cobalt- manganese for gas flotation-gravity sedimentation treatment , resulting in an upper emulsion and a lower emulsion, and then the upper and lower emulsions are subj ected to pressure filtration to obtain magnesium carbonate and manganese carbonate , respectively .

[0036] Example 1 :

[0037] A magnesium-manganese separation method in hydrometallurgy of lateritic nickel ore is characteri zed by the following steps :

[0038] 51 , sodium hydroxide is added to the acid leachate of lateritic nickel ore ( including the following components : iron 3g / L, aluminum 6g / L, nickel 6g / L, cobalt 0 . 6g / L, manganese 4g / L, magnesium 8g / L ) , under the conditions of pH value 2 and temperature 70 ° C, the reaction is carried out for 6 hours to obtain an iron and aluminum slag colloid solution . Clay with a mass concentration of 8 % is added to the iron and aluminum slag colloid solution for iron and aluminum slag sedimentation treatment to obtain a post-iron and aluminum removal liquid;

[0039] 52 , sodium hydroxide is added to the post-iron and aluminum removal liquid under the conditions of pH value 9 and temperature 80 ° C, the reaction is carried out for 5 hours to obtain nickel-cobalt-manganese hydroxide and a postsedimentation liquid of nickel-cobalt-manganese ;

[0040] 53 , excess carbon dioxide is introduced into the postsedimentation l iquid of nickel-cobalt-manganese for gas flotation-gravity sedimentation treatment , resulting in an upper emulsion and a lower emulsion, and then the upper and lower emulsions are subj ected to pressure filtration to obtain magnesium carbonate and manganese carbonate , respectively . The magnesium carbonate is calcined to obtain magnesium oxide and carbon dioxide ; where magnesium oxide is reused as a neutrali zing agent in the iron and aluminum slag sedimentation treatment step and the nickel-cobalt-manganese sedimentation treatment step, and carbon dioxide is reused in the gas flotation-gravity sedimentation treatment step .

[0041] Example 2 :

[0042] A magnesium-manganese separation method in hydrometallurgy of lateritic nickel ore is characteri zed by the following steps :

[0043] S I , sodium carbonate is added to the acid leachate of lateritic nickel ore ( including the following components : iron 2g / L, aluminum 8g / L, nickel 5g / L, cobalt 0 . 8g / L, manganese 3g / L, magnesium l Og / L ) , under the conditions of pH value 4 and temperature 60 ° C, the reaction is carried out for 4 hours to obtain an iron and aluminum slag colloid solution . Clay with a mass concentration of 10% is added to the iron and aluminum slag colloid solution for iron and aluminum slag sedimentation treatment to obtain a post-iron and aluminum removal liquid;

[0044] S2 , sodium carbonate is added to the post-iron and aluminum removal liquid under the conditions of pH value 7 . 5 and temperature 90 ° C, the reaction is carried out for 6 hours to obtain nickel-cobalt-manganese hydroxide and a postsedimentation liquid of nickel-cobalt-manganese ;

[0045] S3 , excess carbon dioxide is introduced into the postsedimentation l iquid of nickel-cobalt-manganese for gas flotation-gravity sedimentation treatment , resulting in an upper emulsion and a lower emulsion, and then the upper and lower emulsions are subj ected to pressure filtration to obtain magnesium carbonate and manganese carbonate , respectively . The magnesium carbonate is calcined to obtain magnesium oxide and carbon dioxide ; where magnesium oxide is reused as a neutrali zing agent in the iron and aluminum slag sedimentation treatment step and the nickel-cobalt-manganese sedimentation treatment step, and carbon dioxide is reused in the gas flotation-gravity sedimentation treatment step .

[0046] Example 3 :

[0047] A magnesium-manganese separation method in hydrometallurgy of lateritic nickel ore is characteri zed by the following steps : 51 , potassium hydroxide is added to the acid leachate of lateritic nickel ore ( including the following components : iron 5g / L, aluminum 4g / L, nickel 7g / L, cobalt 0 . 4g / L, manganese 5g / L, magnesium 6g / L ) , under the conditions of pH value 6 and temperature 80 ° C, the reaction is carried out for 8 hours to obtain an iron and aluminum slag colloid solution . Clay with a mass concentration of 5% is added to the iron and aluminum slag colloid solution for iron and aluminum slag sedimentation treatment to obtain a post-iron and aluminum removal liquid;

[0048] 52 , sodium hydroxide is added to the post-iron and aluminum removal liquid under the conditions of pH value 8 and temperature 70 ° C, the reaction is carried out for 3 hours to obtain nickel-cobalt-manganese hydroxide and a postsedimentation liquid of nickel-cobalt-manganese ;

[0049] 53 , excess carbon dioxide is introduced into the postsedimentation l iquid of nickel-cobalt-manganese for gas flotation-gravity sedimentation treatment , resulting in an upper emulsion and a lower emulsion, and then the upper and lower emulsions are subj ected to pressure filtration to obtain magnesium carbonate and manganese carbonate , respectively . The magnesium carbonate is calcined to obtain magnesium oxide and carbon dioxide ; where magnesium oxide is reused as a neutrali zing agent in the iron and aluminum slag sedimentation treatment step and the nickel-cobalt-manganese sedimentation treatment step, and carbon dioxide is reused in the gas flotation-gravity sedimentation treatment step .

[0050] Based on Examples 1-3 , the magnesium and manganese recovery rates after the pressure filtration in step S3 are calculated relative to the post-sedimentation liquid in step S2 , and the results are shown in the following Table 1 .

[0051] Table 1 : Magnesium and Manganese Recovery Rates The results in Table 1 show that after adopting the separation process of the present invention, ef ficient separation of magnesium and manganese in the pos t-nickel-cobalt- manganese sedimentation liquid can be achieved .

[0052] In summary, the separation process of the present invention achieves ef ficient separation of magnesium and manganese ions in the post-nickel-cobalt-manganese sedimentation liquid . The entire separation process is simple , environmentally friendly, and suitable for large-scale promotion and application . In addition, the products obtained after calcination of the separated products can be reused, improving the utili zation rate of the separated products .

[0053] It should be noted that the above examples all belong to the same inventive concept , and the descriptions of the examples have di f ferent focuses . In cases where the description in an individual example is not exhaustive , references can be made to the descriptions in other examples .

[0054] The above examples only express the implementation of the present invention, which is described in more detail , but should not be understood as limiting the scope of the invention . It should be pointed out that for ordinary technicians in this field, various modi fications and improvements can be made without departing from the inventive concept of the present invention, and these all belong to the scope of protection of the present invention . Therefore , the scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the attached claims .

Claims

What Is Claimed Is1. A method for magnesium-manganese separation in hydrometallurgy of lateritic nickel ore, characterized by the following steps:SI > A neutralizing agent is added to the acid leachate of lateritic nickel ore for reaction, followed by iron-aluminum slag sedimentation treatment to obtain a post-iron-aluminum removal liquid.S2> The neutralizing agent is added to the post-iron-aluminum removal liquid for nickel-cobalt-manganese sedimentation treatment, resulting in nickel-cobalt-manganese hydroxide and a post-sedimentation liquid of nickel-cobalt-manganese. S3 > Carbon dioxide is introduced into the post-sedimentation liquid of nickel-cobalt-manganese for gas flotation-gravity sedimentation treatment, resulting in an upper emulsion and a lower emulsion. The upper and lower emulsions are then subjected to pressure filtration to obtain magnesium carbonate and manganese carbonate, respectively.

2. The magnesium-manganese separation method in hydrometallurgy of lateritic nickel ore as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, in step SI, the acid leachate of lateritic nickel ore comprises the following components: iron 2-5g / L, aluminum 4-8g / L, nickel 5-7g / L, cobalt 0.4-0.8g / L, manganese 3-5g / L, magnesium 6- lOg / L.

3. The magnesium-manganese separation method in hydrometallurgy of lateritic nickel ore as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, in step SI, the neutralizing agent is selected from at least one of sodium hydroxide, sodium carbonate, magnesium oxide, and potassium hydroxide.

4. The magnesium-manganese separation method in hydrometallurgy of lateritic nickel ore as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, in step SI, the reaction step specifically includes: under the conditions of pH value 2-6 and temperature 60-80°C, the reaction is carried out for 4-8 hours.

5. The magnesium-manganese separation method in hydrometallurgy of lateritic nickel ore as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, during the iron-aluminum slag sedimentation treatment in step SI, there is also a step of adding clay, and the mass concentration of the clay is 5-10%.

6. The magnesium-manganese separation method in hydrometallurgy of lateritic nickel ore as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, in step S2, the neutralizing agent is selected from at least one of sodium hydroxide, sodium carbonate, magnesium oxide, and potassium hydroxide.

7. The magnesium-manganese separation method in hydrometallurgy of lateritic nickel ore as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, in step S2, the nickel-cobalt-manganese sedimentation treatment step specifically includes: under the conditions of pH value 7-9 and temperature 70-90°C, the reaction is carried out for 3-6 hours.

8. The magnesium-manganese separation method in hydrometallurgy of lateritic nickel ore as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that, it also includes a step of calcining the magnesium carbonate from step S3 to obtain magnesium oxide and carbon dioxide .

9. The magnesium-manganese separation method in hydrometallurgy of lateritic nickel ore as claimed in claim 8, characterized in that, it also includes a step of reusing the magnesium oxide as a neutralizing agent in the iron-aluminum slag sedimentation treatment step and / or the nickel-cobalt-manganese sedimentation treatment step.

10. The magnesium-manganese separation method in hydrometallurgy of lateritic nickel ore as claimed in claim 8, characterized in that, it also includes a step of reusing the carbon dioxide in the gas flotation-gravity sedimentation treatment step.

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