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US 2026/0185186 A1Published application
Integration of Carbon Sequestration with Selective Hydrometallurgical Recovery of Metal Values
AssigneeNEGATIVE EMISSIONS MATERIALS, INC. (doing business as ATLAS MATERIALS)
InventorsDavid Dreisinger, Jeremy William Ley
Life of this patent
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Abstract
Processes are provided in which successive steps of hydrometallurgical value extraction may be carried out using the products of carbon capture and an electrolytic reagent-generating process. The electrolytic process provides an acid leachant and an alkali hydroxide, with the alkali hydroxide then available for use either directly as a precipitant in the hydrometallurgical steps, or available for conversion by carbon capture to an alkali metal carbonate that can in turn be used as the precipitant in the selective hydrometallurgical steps.
Claims26
A process for processing a comminuted mineral feedstock, comprising:
- a) leaching metal values from the comminuted mineral feedstock with an acid leachant in a leach slurry, to produce a solid siliceous residue and a loaded leach solution;
- optionally, neutralizing the leach slurry with a ground olivine mineral;
- b) precipitating iron and/or aluminum from the loaded leach solution with addition of:
- a ground olivine mineral slurry, and/or
- a first alkali metal carbonate or bicarbonate precipitant, and/or,
- a first alkali hydroxide precipitant,
- to produce an Fe/Al depleted solution and an iron/aluminum/chromium oxy-hydroxide precipitate with residual olivine mineral;
- b′) optionally further precipitating iron and/or aluminum from the Fe/Al depleted solution with addition of a MgO slurry, to produce a further Fe/Al depleted solution;
- c) precipitating nickel and/or cobalt from the Fe/Al depleted solution or from a Ni/Co ion exchange eluant obtained from the Fe/Al depleted solution by selective extraction of nickel and/or cobalt on an ion exchange medium, wherein the precipitating is with addition of:
- a second alkali metal carbonate or bicarbonate precipitant, and/or,
- a second alkali hydroxide precipitant, and/or,
- a MgO slurry,
- to produce a Ni/Co depleted solution and a nickel and/or cobalt carbonate or hydroxide precipitate product;
- c′) optionally, further precipitating nickel and/or cobalt from the Ni/Co depleted solution, wherein the precipitating is with addition of:
- further second alkali metal carbonate or bicarbonate precipitant, and/or,
- further second alkali hydroxide precipitant, and/or,
- further MgO slurry,
- to produce a further Ni/Co depleted solution and a nickel and/or cobalt carbonate or hydroxide precipitate product;
- d) before or after step (c), precipitating iron and/or aluminum and/or manganese from the Ni/Co depleted solution with addition of an oxidant and with addition of:
- a third alkali metal carbonate or bicarbonate precipitant, and/or,
- a third alkali hydroxide precipitant, and/or,
- a MgO slurry,
- to produce an Fe/Al/Mn depleted solution and an iron and/or aluminum and/or manganese hydroxide precipitate product;
- e) precipitating magnesium from the Fe/Al/Mn depleted solution with addition of:
- a fourth alkali hydroxide precipitant, and/or
- a fourth alkali metal carbonate or bicarbonate precipitant, and/or
- heat in the presence of Cl2,
- to produce a Mg-depleted solution and a magnesium hydroxide or carbonate precipitate product;
- f) subjecting the Mg-depleted solution to an electrolysis process to produce the acid leachant and:
- one or more of the alkali hydroxide precipitants, or
- an alkali hydroxide product.
28 more elements
A process for processing a comminuted mineral feedstock, comprising:
- optionally magnetically separating material from the comminuted mineral feedstock;
- a) leaching metal values from the comminuted mineral feedstock with an acid leachant in a leach slurry, to produce a solid siliceous residue and a loaded leach solution;
- optionally subjecting the loaded leach solution to a resin in leach process so as to selectively remove nickel values from the loaded leach solution, to obtain a purified nickel product,
- optionally, washing and/or alkalization of the solid siliceous residue;
- optionally, neutralizing the leach slurry with a ground olivine mineral;
- b) precipitating iron and/or aluminum from the loaded leach solution with addition of:
- a ground olivine mineral slurry,
- and/or
- a first alkali metal carbonate or bicarbonate precipitant, and/or,
- a first alkali hydroxide precipitant,
- to produce an Fe/Al depleted solution and an iron/aluminum/chromium oxy-hydroxide precipitate with a residual olivine mineral;
- b′) optionally further precipitating iron and/or aluminum from the Fe/Al depleted solution with addition of a MgO slurry, to produce a further Fe/Al depleted solution;
- c) precipitating nickel and/or cobalt from the Fe/Al depleted solution or from a Ni/Co ion exchange eluant obtained from the Fe/Al depleted solution by selective extraction of Ni and/or cobalt on an ion exchange medium, wherein the precipitating is with addition of:
- a second alkali metal carbonate or bicarbonate precipitant, and/or,
- a second alkali hydroxide precipitant, and/or,
- a MgO slurry,
- to produce a Ni/Co depleted solution and a nickel and/or cobalt carbonate or hydroxide precipitate product;
- c′) optionally, further precipitating nickel and/or cobalt from the Ni/Co depleted solution, wherein the precipitating is with addition of:
- further second alkali metal carbonate or bicarbonate precipitant, and/or,
- further second alkali hydroxide precipitant, and/or,
- further MgO slurry,
- to produce a further Ni/Co depleted solution and a nickel and/or cobalt carbonate or hydroxide precipitate product;
- d) before or after step (c), precipitating iron and/or aluminum and/or manganese from the Ni/Co depleted solution with addition of an oxidant and with addition of:
- a third alkali metal carbonate or bicarbonate precipitant, and/or,
- a third alkali hydroxide precipitant, and/or
- a MgO slurry,
- to produce an Fe/Al/Mn depleted solution and an iron and/or aluminum and/or manganese hydroxide precipitate product;
- optionally recycling a brine comprising the Fe/Al/Mn depleted solution to a comminuting step to provide the comminuted mineral feedstock;
- e) precipitating magnesium from the Fe/Al/Mn depleted solution with addition of:
- a fourth alkali hydroxide precipitant, or
- a fourth alkali metal carbonate or bicarbonate precipitant,
- to produce a Mg-depleted solution and a magnesium hydroxide or carbonate precipitate product;
- f) subjecting the Mg-depleted solution to an electrolysis process to produce the acid leachant and:
- one or more of the alkali hydroxide precipitants, or
- an alkali hydroxide product;
- and,
- g) sequestering carbon dioxide from a CO2 containing gas, by reacting the CO2 containing gas directly or indirectly with the alkali hydroxide product, in one or more of:
- the nickel and/or cobalt carbonate precipitate product;
- or, the magnesium carbonate precipitate product.
36 more elements
A process for processing a comminuted mineral feedstock, comprising:
- a) leaching metal values from the comminuted mineral feedstock with an acid leachant in a leach slurry, to produce a solid siliceous residue and a loaded leach solution;
- optionally, neutralizing the leach slurry with a ground olivine mineral;
- b) precipitating iron and/or aluminum from the loaded leach solution with addition of:
- a ground olivine mineral slurry,
- to produce an Fe/Al depleted solution and an iron/aluminum/chromium oxy-hydroxide precipitate with residual olivine mineral;
- b′) further precipitating iron and/or aluminum from the Fe/Al depleted solution with addition of MgO slurry, to produce a further Fe/Al depleted solution;
- c) precipitating nickel and/or cobalt from the Fe/Al depleted solution, wherein the precipitating is with addition of:
- MgO slurry,
- to produce a Ni/Co depleted solution and a nickel and/or cobalt carbonate or hydroxide precipitate product;
- c′) further precipitating nickel and/or cobalt from the Ni/Co depleted solution, wherein the precipitating is with addition of:
- MgO slurry,
- to produce a further Ni/Co depleted solution and a nickel and/or cobalt carbonate or hydroxide precipitate product;
- d) precipitating manganese from the Ni/Co depleted solution with addition of a Cl2 oxidant and with addition of:
- MgO slurry,
- to produce an Fe/Al/Mn depleted solution and a manganese hydroxide precipitate product;
- e) heating the Fe/Al/Mn depleted solution to produce a MgCl2-6H2O crystallization product;
- f) heating the MgCl2-6H2O crystallization product to produce a dried MgCl2 crystallization product;
- and,
- g) exposing the dried MgCl2 crystallization product to super heated steam to produce a MgO product by pyrolysis, and an HCl gas stream, wherein the MgO product may optionally be recycled to provide the MgO slurry for precipitation steps b′ to d, and the HCl may optionally be condensed to provide HCl as the acid leachant for step a.
16 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.