Recovery of cobalt and molybdenum from consumed catalyst using hydrochloric acid

Cobalt and molybdenum are valuable metals whose presence in nature is very limited. The consumed catalyst, which is abundantly available in the petroleum refinery industry, is a potential source of those metals. A hydrometallurgical process using acid as a leaching agent is usually used to extract and separate the metals more effectively. This method is considered capable of yielding recovery of a higher percentage of metal. In this study, hydrochloric acid solutions at various concentrations of 1.0, 1.5 and 2 M were used. The consumed catalyst was obtained from Pertamina Refinery Unit IV, Cilacap, Indonesia. Leaching experiment was carried out for 300 minutes and sampling was undertaken at 1, 3, 5, 15, 30, 90 and 300 minutes. The particle size and agitation speed were fixed at 200 mesh and 400 rpm. Samples of consumed catalyst were analyzed using EDXRF before the leaching process. Samples of solution were analyzed using ICP-EOS. Experimental results have shown that the recovery of cobalt and molybdenum increases with the increase of either concentration of hydrochloric acid or temperature. The highest recoveries in cobalt and molybdenum were 34.66% and 5.03%, respectively, obtained at a concentration of hydrochloric acid of 2 M and temperature 60°C.

The effect of temperature and digested sewage sludge cover over tailings on the leaching of contaminants from Ballangen tailings deposit

Dry covers can be applied above tailings to reduce and prevent formation of acid mine drainage and leaching of contaminants. Efficiency of covers is affected by different parameters, of which temperature change under climate change context is one. Here, a laboratory column leaching experiment was performed under four temperatures, 5, 10, 14, and 18 °C on unoxidized tailings from Ballangen, Norway. 600 mL of water was added to each column every second week and leachate collected and analyzed for pH, salinity, alkalinity, concentrations of sulfate, Co, Fe, Mn, Ni, and Zn. A thin layer of digested sewage sludge was added to columns after the 16th leaching cycle. In total, 21 leaching cycles were performed. Results showed low oxidation of tailings and therefore high pH and low salinity, SO42−, Fe, Ni, and Co in the leachates at leaching temperature of 5 °C. Addition of sludge cover slowed down oxidation of underlying tailings and decreased leaching of SO42−, Fe, Mn, Co, Ni, and Zn from the tailings deposit, especially at relatively high temperature. 10 °C is a threshold temperature, below which leaching is not affected by the cover addition so much. At a leaching temperature higher than 10 °C, the sludge cover addition can reduce the leaching of elements significantly.

Laboratory tests of the hydrometallurgical method for processing polymetallic raw material in Central Kazakhstan

Within the scop e of this study the leaching process of Cu, Zn, Co, Mo from the complex polymetallic sulfide concentrate with high Fe, As, which was produced in Central Kazakhstan using two methods is examined. The metal concentrations in the concentrate were 0.27% Cu, 0.026% Zn, 0.464% Co, 0.057% Mo, 15.51% Fe, 7.38% As. Nitrogen oxides formed in the processes of leaching were absorbed with water, the return of absorption product to the operation of leaching allowed reducing the consumption of nitric acid. The single-stage nitric acid leaching experiment was carried out at the leach concentrate productivity of 170±20 g/h, 80±2 °С, liquid/solid mass ratio (L/S) 6/1, leach time of 10.7 h, and nitric acid (57%) consumption of 0.12±0.01 l/h. The degree of capture of nitrous gases reached 97.8%. In these conditions Cu, Zn, Co, Mo, Fe, As were obtained with dissolution efficiencies of 96.98, 64.92, 99.99, 95.39, 80.13 and 99.80% respectively. Concentrations of NO3–, H+ and redox potential in the leachate were 88.7 g/l, 1.82 mol./l and 741 mV, respectively. The two-stage counter-current nitric acid leaching experiment was carried out at the leach concentrate productivity of 170±20 g/h, 80±2 °С, L/S 6/1, leach time of 26.8 h, and nitric acid (57%) consumption of 0.06±0.006 l/h. The degree of capture of nitrous gases reached 97.8%. In these conditions Cu, Zn, Co, Mo, Fe, As were obtained with dissolution efficiencies of 99.11, 85.23, 100.00, 88.60, 77.24 and 85.56%, respectively. Concentrations of NO3–, H+ and redox potential in the leachate were 46.7 g/l, 0.35 mol/l and 658 mV, respectively. Compared to single-stage leaching, two-stage counter-current nitric acid leaching allo ws the significant economy of nitric acid (256 g of 100% HNO3 per kilogram of concentrate), which is reduction of 48%. Moreover, counter-current leaching enables reduction in concentrations of NO3–, H+ and redox potential in the leachate. The further studies should focus on possible reduction in nitric acid consumption by lowering concentration of NO3– in leachate. The authors appreciate participation of I. A. Parygin, VNIPIpromtekhnologii in this study.

Biochar for Circular Horticulture: Feedstock Related Effects in Soilless Cultivation

Biochar has previously been used in growing media blends as fertilizer or for improving plant growth, disease suppression, and as a sustainable replacement of peat. To achieve optimal circular horticulture, we propose here to reuse the biochar from spent growing media. However, it is unclear to what extent the biochar feedstock determines the mode of action of the biochar and if use of spent growing media biochar may encounter nutrient or salt problems. Differences in chemical characteristics, nutrient release, and interaction in a leaching experiment and effects on plant growth, nutrient uptake, and disease suppression in a strawberry greenhouse trial were studied for 11 biochars either processed from spent growing media or from lignocellulosic biomass. A well-studied biochar produced from oak wood was set as reference. Biochars produced from spent growing media were characterized by higher electrical conductivity, extractable and total nutrient concentrations compared with biochars produced from lignocellulosic biomass. Especially in the first phase of the leaching experiment, all biochars showed nutrient and salt release, with most prominent effects for spent growing media biochars and the reference biochar. The latter biochars were an important source of phosphorus and in particular of potassium. Only for the reference biochar, strawberry plants showed increased uptake of phosphorus, potassium and calcium, and increased chlorophyll concentration. No Bortrytis cinerea disease suppression and no increase in plant growth was observed for the tested biochars. It is concluded that spent growing media can be recycled as biochar in growing media without adverse effects compared to biochars produced from lignocellulosic biomass.

An Experimental Study on the Sources of Strontium in Mineral Water and General Rules of Its Dissolution—A Case Study of Chengde, Hebei

Chengde City boasts a wealth of high-quality mineral water resources characterized by a high level of strontium (Sr), a low level of sodium, and low alkalinity. In order to study the mechanism of formation of Sr-bearing mineral water in Chengde and to scientifically guide future mineral water exploration, taking three typical mineral water exploration areas in Chengde as examples, this paper studies the sources of Sr in mineral water and the general rules of its dissolution via a laboratory static leaching experiment and impact experiments, and it provides an analysis of the characteristics of typical rock samples. The research results indicate that the content of Sr in surrounding rock and the characteristics of minerals existing in surrounding rock jointly control the dissolution of Sr in water; that CO2 can promote the formation of mineral water containing Sr; and that temperature increases may boost the dissolution of Sr from carbonate minerals but also inhibit the dissolution of Sr from silicate minerals.

Investigation of the optimal technology for copper leaching from old flotation tailings of the copper mine bor (Serbia)

This work aimed to investigate optimal leaching technology for copper extraction from old flotation tailings of the Copper Mine Bor. The leaching degree of copper after leaching with sulphuric acid at 80 °C was 50%, the maximal leaching degree was achieved after 30 minutes. Then, old flotation tailings were leached with adapted moderately thermophilic acidophilic bacteria in a bioreactor at 40 °C. Maximal leaching degree of 84% was achieved after nine days of the experiment. The third leaching experiment was conducted with biogenic lixiviant obtained by bacterial oxidation of the ferrous iron (concentration of Fe3+ 1300 mgL-1, pH 2.14). Biogenic lixiviant with ferric sulphate was then used in the leaching experiment at 80 °C. Maximal leaching degree was 78%, and it was achieved after five minutes. Results of the leaching experiments show that the most efficient technology for copper recovery from the old flotation tailings of the Copper Mine Bor was leaching with biogenic lixiviant.

Metals Leaching in Permeable Asphalt Pavement with Municipal Solid Waste Ash Aggregate

The leaching behaviors of four heavy metals (Zn, Pb, Cu and Cr) from unbounded municipal solid waste incineration-bottom ash aggregate (MSWI-BAA) and permeable asphalt (PA) mixture containing MSWI-BAA were investigated in the laboratory. The horizontal vibration extraction procedure (HVEP) test and a simulated leaching experiment were conducted on MSWI-BAA with three particle sizes, but only the simulated leaching experiment was carried out on a type of PA specimen (PAC-13) with and without these MSWI-BAAs. Leaching data were analyzed to investigate the leaching characteristics, identify the factors affecting leaching and assess the impact on the surrounding environment. Results indicated that the leaching process was comprehensively influenced by contact time, leaching metal species and MSWI-BAA particle size, regardless of MSWI-BAA alone or used in PAC-13 mixture. The leaching concentrations of Cr, Zn and Pb from MSWI-BAA in HVEP testing was strongly related to MSWI-BAA particle size. The use of MSWI-BAA in PAC-13 mixture did not change the basic tendency of heavy metal leaching, but it led to an increase of Cr and Zn in leachate overall. The leachate from the MSWI-BAA and PAC-13 mixture with MSWI-BAA was shown to be safe for irrigation and would have very little negative impact on surrounding surface and underground water quality.

Paddy husk compost addition for improving nitrogen availability

Mature compost with good agronomic properties can be used to control nitrogen loss from soil. Soil incubation and leaching experiments were conducted to determine the effects of paddy husk compost addition on controlling ammonium and nitrate losses from Bekenu Series soil. Retention of soil exchangeable ammonium and available nitrate were significantly improved in soil amended with paddy husk compost treatments compared with urea alone thus, reducing leaching of these ions. At 30 days of the leaching experiment, ammonium and nitrate losses were highest in urea without paddy husk compost addition compared with co-application of urea and paddy husk compost because the treatment significantly improved retention of soil exchangeable ammonium and available nitrate. Urea can be co-applied with paddy husk compost to improve release of ammonium and nitrate and to retain nitrogen availability.