Process for recovering precious metals
AssigneeEngelhard Minerals & Chemicals Corporation
InventorsHubert A. Lechavelier, Walter Drobot
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Abstract
Platinum, palladium and other precious metals are recovered from aqueous media containing precious metal ions in solution by contacting the metal-containing solution with a proteinaceous material selected from the group consisting of feathers, hair, hoof meal and horn meal to collect the metals in concentrated insoluble form, and recovering metal from the proteinaceous material.
Claims11
A process for removing metal from an aqueous medium containing in solution one or more metals selected from the group consisting of platinum, rhodium, palladium, ruthenium, gold, silver, iridium, zinc, aluminum, iron, copper, nickel and tin which comprises contacting said aqueous medium with at least one unmodified proteinaceous material selected from the group consisting of feathers, hair, hoof meal and horn meal for a period of time sufficient to convert metal in solution to water insoluble form in association with said proteinaceous material, and separating loaded proteinaceous material containing removed metal from the resulting treated aqueous medium.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.