Method for separating platinum group element

A separation process for platinum group elements comprising:

• (A) treating a material comprising selenium and/or tellurium, and platinum group elements, with alkali,
• (B) leaching the selenium and/or tellurium, and
• (C) separating a leaching residue comprising a platinum group element and a selenium and/or tellurium leachate, wherein said (A) and said (B) are conducted simultaneously as an alkali leaching process,
• and
• wherein the material comprising the selenium and/or tellurium and the platinum group elements is leached with alkali at high temperature ranging from 60°C. to 80°C., causing the selenium and/or tellurium to migrate into an alkali liquid, and a solid-liquid separation is then conducted to separate a resulting mixture into a solid fraction comprising the platinum group elements, and a liquid fraction comprising the selenium and/or tellurium.

A separation process for platinum group elements comprising:

• (A) treating a material containing selenium and tellurium and platinum group elements with alkali, (B) leaching the selenium and the tellurium, and (C) separating a platinum group element-containing leaching residue and a selenium and tellurium leachate,
• the process further comprising an alkali melt process (i), comprising a step for adding a flux comprising a mixture of caustic soda and sodium nitrate to a residue from a distillation treatment of a material containing the selenium and the tellurium and the platinum group elements, and then heating to a temperature exceeding a melting (eutectic) temperature of said mixture, thus dissolving said selenium and tellurium, as said step (A) for conducting said alkali treatment, a step for conducting water leaching as said step (B) for leaching the selenium and the tellurium, and further comprising said step (C) for separating said platinum group element-containing leaching residue and said selenium and tellurium leachate, and an alkali leaching process (ii), comprising a step for leaching the material containing the selenium and the tellurium and platinum group elements with alkali at high temperature as said step (A) for conducting said alkali treatment and said step (B) for leaching selenium/tellurium, and further comprising said step (C) for separating said platinum group element-containing leaching residue and said selenium and tellurium leachate.

A separation process for platinum group elements comprising:

• (A) treating a material comprising selenium and tellurium, and platinum group elements, with alkali,
• (B) leaching the selenium and tellurium, and
• (C) separating a leaching residue comprising the platinum group elements and a selenium and tellurium leachate, wherein
• a selenium and tellurium mixture is obtained from said selenium and tellurium leachate, and said obtained selenium and tellurium mixture is then introduced into a copper smelting and refining process to generate an alloy of selenium and tellurium with copper, said alloy is subjected to copper electrolysis to recover electrolytic copper, while accumulating selenium and tellurium within a copper electrolysis slime, and said copper electrolysis slime is then subjected to sulfuric acid oxidizing leaching, thus dissolving and separating tellurium in a leachate from selenium in a leaching residue.