Dissolution process
AssigneeWatts & Fisher Pty Ltd
InventorsHarry Philip Watts, Tonya Jean Fisher
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The present invention relates to a process for recovering metals from metal-bearing material, said process comprising the step of contacting the metal-bearing material with condensed phosphoric acid at a temperature of greater than 215° C. and less than 300° C. for a period of time sufficient to at least partially dissolve the metal-bearing material; to provide a leaching solution containing metal ions. The invention is applicable to a range of metals including the rare earth elements, as well as thorium and uranium. The invention is applicable to a range of metal-bearing materials, particularly phosphate minerals such as monazite and xenotime.
Claims18
A process for recovering metals from a metal-bearing material, said process comprising:
- contacting the metal-bearing material with condensed phosphoric acid at a temperature of greater than 215° C. and less than 275° C. for a period of time sufficient to at least partially dissolve the metal-bearing material to provide a leaching solution containing metal ions,
- wherein the amount of metal-bearing material added to the condensed phosphoric acid is between around 50 and 350 g/L,
- wherein the metal-bearing material is a phosphate mineral selected from monazite and xenotime,
- wherein at least 80% of the metal-bearing material is dissolved in the condensed phosphoric acid.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.