Nickel Cobalt Manganese Leaching With Two-Stage Impurity Separation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for recovering nickel, cobalt, and manganese from raw materials, such as solvent extraction and atmospheric pressure leaching, face issues with operating stability, high costs, and inefficiencies due to the use of organic solvents and impurity co-leaching, leading to increased production costs and waste.
Innovation Solution
A method involving a pressure-leaching process, followed by impurity removal and target substance precipitation, which reduces the use of organic solvents, improves productivity, and decreases production costs by selectively extracting and precipitating metals, including a two-stage pressure-leaching process and solvent extraction steps using D2EHPA as a solvent extractant.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If solvent extraction method is used to recover nickel, cobalt and manganese, then metal recovery is achieved, but operating stability deteriorates due to fire and explosion risks of organic solvents
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and removes the harmful organic solvent from the metal recovery process entirely. Instead of using solvent extraction, the invention employs a hydrometallurgical approach with aqueous solutions, selectively extracting only the necessary metals (nickel, cobalt, manganese) through controlled precipitation and filtration, thereby eliminating fire and explosion risks while maintaining metal recovery capability
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces expensive, hazardous organic solvents with inexpensive, safe aqueous solutions. The process uses readily available chemicals like sodium hydroxide and sodium carbonate for metal precipitation, eliminating the need for costly organic solvents and their associated safety infrastructure
2Productivity
If solvent extraction method is used to increase recovery efficiency, then metal recovery efficiency is improved, but production cost increases due to expensive organic solvent
Solution Approach 1:
The patent substitutes expensive organic solvents with inexpensive aqueous solutions and common chemicals. The process uses sodium hydroxide, sodium carbonate, and other readily available substances for metal precipitation, dramatically reducing material costs while maintaining efficient nickel, cobalt, and manganese recovery
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the chemical parameters of the extraction medium from organic to aqueous phase. By controlling pH, temperature, and chemical concentration in aqueous solutions, the process achieves efficient metal recovery without the costs associated with organic solvents, including purchase, handling, and disposal expenses
3Device complexity
If atmospheric pressure leaching method is used to leach concentrate, then leaching process is simplified, but productivity decreases due to long reaction time of 30 hours or more
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary roasting treatment to the concentrate before leaching. This pre-treatment step converts sulfide minerals to oxides and removes sulfur, significantly enhancing leaching kinetics. As a result, the leaching reaction time is reduced from 30 hours to just 3-5 hours, dramatically improving productivity while maintaining process simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent optimizes leaching parameters including temperature (80-95°C), acid concentration (10-20% sulfuric acid), and solid-liquid ratio. These parameter optimizations, combined with preliminary roasting, accelerate the leaching reaction rate, reducing processing time from 30 hours to 3-5 hours while keeping the process straightforward
4Ease of operation
If atmospheric pressure leaching method is used to leach concentrate, then leaching operation is simplified, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to co-leaching of iron impurity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary roasting to selectively transform sulfide minerals before leaching. This pre-treatment creates chemical differences between target metals (nickel, cobalt, manganese) and iron impurities, enabling selective dissolution during leaching. The roasting step oxidizes sulfides to oxides at different rates, allowing subsequent selective extraction while maintaining operational simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent controls leaching parameters (pH, temperature, acid concentration) to exploit differences in solubility and reactivity between target metals and iron impurities. By maintaining specific pH ranges and using controlled acid concentrations, the process achieves selective leaching of nickel, cobalt, and manganese while leaving iron impurities behind, all within a simple operational framework
5Manufacturing precision
If removing agent such as sodium fluoride is used to remove magnesium impurity, then magnesium removal is achieved, but production cost increases due to large amount of residue and additional removing agent costs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses pH control and selective precipitation to remove magnesium impurities. By adjusting the pH to specific ranges and adding minimal precipitating agents, the process selectively precipitates magnesium as hydroxide or carbonate while keeping target metals in solution. This approach removes magnesium effectively without generating large volumes of waste sludge and minimizes chemical consumption, reducing both costs and environmental impact
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This method enhances operating stability, increases productivity, and reduces production costs by minimizing the use of expensive organic solvents and effectively separating impurities, thereby improving the efficiency of nickel, cobalt, and manganese recovery.
Implementation Method 1
a pressure-leaching process of leaching a raw material under pressure to form a leachate containing nickel, cobalt, manganese, and impurities
Implementation Method 2
a first-stage solvent extraction process of selectively extracting zinc from the impurities by introducing a first solvent extractant
Implementation Method 3
a second-stage solvent extraction process of selectively extracting magnesium from the impurities by introducing a second solvent extractant
Implementation Method 4
a target substance precipitation process of precipitating a mixed hydroxide precipitate containing nickel, cobalt and manganese by introducing a neutralizing agent into a filtrate
Implementation Method 5
a dissolution process of dissolving the mixed hydroxide precipitate in an acid
Data Source
AI summary
A method for producing an aqueous solution containing nickel, cobalt and manganese, includes: a leaching process including a pressure-leaching process of leaching a raw material under pressure to form a leachate containing nickel, cobalt, manganese and impurities; an impurity removal process of removing the impurities from the leachate; a target substance precipitation process of precipitating a mixed hydroxide precipitate containing nickel, cobalt and manganese by introducing a neutralizing agent into a filtrate from which the impurities are removed; and a dissolution process. The pressure-leaching process includes a first-stage pressure-leaching process and a second-stage pressure-leaching process of pressure-leaching a residue of the first-stage pressure-leaching process with an acidity higher than an acidity in the first-stage pressure-leaching process. The impurity removal process includes a first-stage solvent extraction process of selectively extracting zinc from the impurities and a second-stage solvent extraction process of selectively extracting magnesium from the impurities.