Processing of copper converter slag for metal reclamation. Part I: Extraction and recovery of copper and cobalt.
Clean processing of copper converter slag to reclaim cobalt and copper could be a challenge. An innovative and environmentally sound approach for recovering valuable metals from such a slag has been developed in the present study. Curing the slag with strong sulphuric acid, without re-smelting or roasting as practiced currently in the industry, render it accessible to leaching, and more than 95% of cobalt and up to 90% of copper was extracted together with iron by water leaching, leaving silica behind in a residue. The copper in the leach liquor was recovered by cementation with iron and the dissolved iron crystallized as ferrous sulphate monohydrate. The cobalt in the mother-liquor rich in iron was recovered by either cementation or sulphide precipitation. Operation variables in the new process were also investigated and optimized.
Deng
Tong
T
Institute of Process Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, PR China. dengt111@163.com
Ling
Yunhan
Y
D017609:Barium Compounds / Q000737:chemistry; D011232:Chemical Precipitation; D003035:Cobalt / Q000737:chemistry*; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D003300:Copper / Q000737:chemistry*; D007220:Industrial Waste; D008345:Manganese / Q000737:chemistry; D012822:Silicon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry; D013440:Sulfides / Q000737:chemistry; D013464:Sulfuric Acids / Q000737:chemistry; D018505:Waste Management
D017609:Barium Compounds; D007220:Industrial Waste; D013440:Sulfides; D013464:Sulfuric Acids; D003035:Cobalt; D008345:Manganese; D012822:Silicon Dioxide; D003300:Copper; C033158:sulfuric acid; C039592:barium sulfide