Recovery of alkali values from sodium bicarbonate-containing ore with ammonia
AssigneeIntermountain Research and Devel. Corp.
InventorsWilliam R. Frint, William C. Copenhafer, Michael L. Pinsky
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Abstract
A method for recovering alkali value from sodium bicarbonate-containing ore by utilizing an aqueous solvent containing ammonia. The aqueous ammonia solvent is contacted with the ore to solubilize the sodium bicarbonate-containing ore. The alkali values in the resulting solution are crystallized, preferably as sodium carbonate monohydrate or as sodium sesquicarbonate, which may be processed to recover soda ash. Aqueous ammonia solvent is preferably regenerated from the mother liquor remaining after recovery of the solids, the ammonia solvent then being employed in a cyclic method to recover additional alkali values from the ore.
Claims19
A cyclic method for recovering alkali values from mechanically mined trona ore, which comprises
- (i) contacting trona ore with an aqueous ammonia solvent containing about 0.5 to 4% by weight NH.sub.3 to effect dissolution of sodium sesquicarbonate in the ore;
- (ii) separating the resultant solution from the undissolved portion of the ore;
- (iii) crystallizing alkali values from the separated solution;
- (iv) recovering the crystallized solids from the solution, leaving a mother liquor;
- (v) regenerating aqueous ammonia solvent from the mother liquor;
- and
- (vi) recycling the regenerated aqueous ammonia solvent to step (i) and repeating the cycle of recovery.
A cyclic method for recovering alkali values from underground trona ore deposits, which comprises
- (i) introducing into the region of the trona ore deposit an aqueous ammonia mining solvent containing about 0.5 to 4% by weight NH.sub.3 resulting from the process set forth below and having dissolved therein sufficient ammonia to effect congruent dissolution of sodium sesquicarbonate in the ore;
- (ii) withdrawing from the region at least a portion of the resulting solution;
- (iii) crystallizing alkali values from the withdrawn mining solution in an amount essentially equivalent to that solubilized by the aqueous ammonia solvent and contained in the withdrawn solution;
- (iv) recovering the crystallized solids from the mining solution, leaving a mother liquor;
- (v) regenerating aqueous ammonia solvent from the mother liquor, the regeneration including the addition of sufficient water and ammonia to the mother liquor to compensate substantially for that in the volume of solvent left in the region of the trona deposit;
- and
- (vi) recycling the regenerated aqueous ammonia solvent to step (i) and repeating the cycle of recovery.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.