Magnesium removal process
AssigneeLithium Nevada Corp.
InventorsRyan Michael Ravenelle, Hugh Broadhurst, Dustin D. Whitehead, Shyamsundar Ayalur Chattanathan, Rene LeBlanc
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Abstract
A method for removing alkali earth metals from a filtrate including a first crystallization step and a second crystallization step, wherein the first crystallization step is a forced circulation crystallizer, and wherein the second crystallization step is a draft tube crystallizer. Also included is a method for reducing magnesium in a chemical liquor including crystallizing magnesium into a magnesium sulfate hydrate in a first crystallization step and precipitating magnesium via addition of a caustic material in a chemical precipitation step.
Claims20
A method for reducing alkali earth metals in a chemical filtrate comprising:
- crystallizing alkali earth cations in the chemical filtrate in a first crystallization step;
- and
- crystallizing alkali earth cations in the chemical filtrate in a second crystallization step,
- wherein the first crystallization step occurs in a forced circulation crystallizer, and
- wherein the second crystallization step occurs in a first draft tube crystallizer.
A method for reducing magnesium in a chemical liquor comprising:
- crystallizing magnesium into a magnesium sulfate hydrate in a first crystallization step;
- and
- precipitating magnesium via addition of a caustic material in a chemical precipitation step.
A method for reducing alkali earth metals in solids comprising:
- acid-leaching the solids to form an effluent slurry;
- neutralizing the effluent slurry to form a neutralized filtrate;
- concentrating the neutralized filtrate by Mechanical Vapor Recompression heated falling film evaporators;
- crystallizing impurities from the neutralized filtrate in a first crystallization step in a forced circulation crystallizing step;
- crystallizing impurities from the neutralized filtrate in a second crystallization step in a first draft tube crystallizing step;
- crystallizing impurities from the neutralized filtrate in a third crystallization step in a second draft tube crystallizing step;
- and
- precipitating remaining impurities via addition of a caustic material.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.