Method and apparatus for recovery of noble metals, including recovery of noble metals from plated and/or filled scrap
AssigneeGreene Lyon Group, Inc.
InventorsSvitlana Moskovchenko, Andre Brosseau
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Abstract
Systems and methods for the recovery of noble metal from noble-metal-containing material are generally described. Certain embodiments related to systems and methods in which an electric current is transported between an electrode and the noble metal of a noble-metal-containing material to dissolve at least a portion of the noble metal from the noble-metal-containing material. The dissolved noble metal can subsequently be precipitated out of solution and recovered, according to certain embodiments. Noble metals can be recovered from any suitable noble-metal-containing material, including plated and/or filled scrap materials and/or other materials.
Claims27
A system for recovering noble metal from a noble-metal-containing material, comprising:
- an electrode;
- a noble-metal-containing material;
- and
- an electrolytic solution comprising a sulfonic acid and/or persulfuric acid,
- wherein the system is configured such that, when an electric current is transported between the electrode and the noble metal, at least a portion of the noble metal is removed from the noble-metal-containing material;
- wherein the electrolytic solution comprises a mixture of acid and water and has a water content of less than or equal to 30 weight percent;
- and
- wherein the electrolytic solution is free of supplemental noble metal oxidant or supplemental noble metal oxidant is present in an amount of less than 0.1 wt % of the electrolytic solution.
A method for recovering a noble metal from a noble-metal-containing material, comprising:
- transporting an electric current between an electrode and a noble metal of the noble-metal-containing material positioned within an electrolytic solution comprising a sulfonic acid and/or persulfuric acid such that at least a portion of the noble metal is removed from the noble-metal-containing material,
- wherein the electrolytic solution comprises a mixture of acid and water and has a water content of less than or equal to 30 weight percent, and
- wherein the electrolytic solution is free of supplemental noble metal oxidant or supplemental noble metal oxidant is present in an amount of less than 0.1 wt % of the electrolytic solution.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.