Retrieval of high value refractory metals from alloys and mixtures
AssigneeOrchard Material Technology, LLC
InventorsLawrence F. McHugh, Leonid N. Shekhter, Yuri V. Blagoveshchenskiy
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Abstract
Recovery of a metal from scrap materials or other source materials containing two or more metals or other materials by iodization of the materials or parts of them to create multiple metal iodides of respective metals, separating the iodides and dissociating at least one of the iodides to recover its metal component.
Claims29
Method of recovering target component metals from a source material comprising alloys or other natural or synthesized mixtures of metals in elemental form or as metal compounds, the target component metals of source material being selected as two or more from the group consisting of rhenium, tantalum, niobium, tungsten, molybdenum, nickel, cobalt and iron, but including at least one of rhenium, tantalum, molybdenum, tungsten, niobium as target metal and comprising the steps of:
- (a) heating the material with iodine to convert at least some of the component metals to metal iodides,
- (b) separating the iodides by fractional volatilization or condensation,
- (c) converting at least one metal iodide so produced, to a metal product and iodine, and
- (d) looping recovered iodine back to step (a).
A tantalum powder product of nanoscale particle diameter and substantially spherical morphology with surface area in excess of 10 m2/g, bulk density of less than 1 g/ cc.
Method of processing materials with two or more mixed metallic components including at least one target metal component to be extracted from the mixture comprising the steps of:
- (a) converting two or more of the component metals to metal iodides by heating in the presence of iodine,
- (b) separation of the metal iodides by fractional volatilization or condensation,
- (c) conversion of at least one target metal iodide to the target metal and
- (d) looping iodine back to step (a).
A method of recovering individual refractory metals from mixed-metal sources, including at least one target metal, selected from the group consisting of scrap metal, alloys, mixtures with refractory metals or other metals and containing one or more refractory metals selected from the group consisting of Ta, Nb, Re, W, Mo, Zr and Hf,
- the method comprising the steps of contacting the source material with chlorine and heating to form one or more refractory metal chlorides,
- treating mixed chlorides of metals so obtained to separate them by fractional volatilization or condensation, and
- reducing one or more such separate chlorides with hydrogen to produce hydrogen chloride and the respective metals.
A method of recovering individual refractory metals from mixed-metal sources including at least one target metal selected from the group consisting of scrap metal, alloys, mixtures with refractory metals or other metals and containing one or more refractory metals selected from the group consisting of Re, Ta, Nb, W, Mo, Zr and Hf,
- the process comprising the steps of contacting the source material with bromine and heating to form one or more refractory metal bromides,
- treating mixed bromides of metals so obtained to separate them by fractional volatilization or condensation, and
- reducing one or more such separate bromides with hydrogen to produce hydrogen bromide and the respective metals.
A method of recovering individual refractory metals from mixed-metal sources including at least one metal selected from the group consisting of scrap metal, alloys, mixtures with refractory metals or other metals and containing one or more refractory metals selected from the group consisting of Re, Ta, Nb, W, Mo, Zr and Hf,
- the process comprising the steps of contacting the source material with fluorine to form one or more refractory metal fluorides,
- treating mixed fluoride of metals so obtained to separate them by fractional distillation, and
- reducing one or more such separate fluorides by hydrogen to produce hydrogen fluoride and the respective metals.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.