Chromium (VI) Inhibition of Low pH Bioleaching of Limonitic Nickel-Cobalt Ore

Limonitic layers of the regolith, which are often stockpiled as waste materials at laterite mines, commonly contain significant concentrations of valuable base metals, such as nickel, cobalt, and manganese. There is currently considerable demand for these transition metals, and this is projected to continue to increase (alongside their commodity values) during the next few decades, due in the most part to their use in battery and renewable technologies. Limonite bioprocessing is an emerging technology that often uses acidophilic prokaryotes to catalyse the oxidation of zero-valent sulphur coupled to the reduction of Fe (III) and Mn (IV) minerals, resulting in the release of target metals. Chromium-bearing minerals, such as chromite, where the metal is present as Cr (III), are widespread in laterite deposits. However, there are also reports that the more oxidised and more biotoxic form of this metal [Cr (VI)] may be present in some limonites, formed by the oxidation of Cr (III) by manganese (IV) oxides. Bioleaching experiments carried out in laboratory-scale reactors using limonites from a laterite mine in New Caledonia found that solid densities of ∼10% w/v resulted in complete inhibition of iron reduction by acidophiles, which is a critical reaction in the reductive dissolution process. Further investigations found this to be due to the release of Cr (VI) in the acidic liquors. X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy analysis of the limonites used found that between 3.1 and 8.0% of the total chromium in the three limonite samples used in experiments was present in the raw materials as Cr (VI). Microbial inhibition due to Cr (VI) could be eliminated either by adding limonite incrementally or by the addition of ferrous iron, which reduces Cr (VI) to less toxic Cr (III), resulting in rates of extraction of cobalt (the main target metal in the experiments) of >90%.

Production of electrolytic copper from Zhezkazgan Processing Plant tailings leaching solutions using a hydro-impulse discharge

In this work, for the first time, studies of the mineralogical composition and chemical semi-quantitative spectral analysis (SQSA) of the Zhezkazgan processing plant tailings before and after leaching were carried out. It was found that copper is present in the tailings in the form of the chalcosine and bornite minerals. After leaching with the use of ammonium bifluoride and a hydro-pulse discharge, chalcosine and boronite are destroyed, and copper passes into a solution containing phosphoric acid. As a result of multiple placing of tailings into the solution, the copper content in it is brought to a concentration at which copper deposition on a stainless steel plate is possible. The identification of copper was implemented on a LAES-Matrix grain spectrometer. A visual comparative analysis of the changes in the structure of the treated ore waste was carried out using a TESCAN MIRA scanning electron microscope. Metallic copper was obtained from solution by electrochemical reactions in an experimental laboratory setup as a result. The technology was developed on an experimental laboratory setup for the extraction of metallic copper and brought the choice of the solution medium and electrochemical processes to the stage of obtaining the target metal with a purity of 99.99 %

In-situ anodic precipitation process for highly efficient separation of aluminum alloys

Electrorefining process has been widely used to separate and purify metals, but it is limited by deposition potential of the metal itself. Here we report in-situ anodic precipitation (IAP), a modified electrorefining process, to purify aluminium from contaminants that are more reactive. During IAP, the target metals that are more cathodic than aluminium are oxidized at the anode and forced to precipitate out in a low oxidation state. This strategy is fundamentally based on different solubilities of target metal chlorides in the NaAlCl4 molten salt rather than deposition potential of metals. The results suggest that IAP is able to efficiently and simply separate components of aluminum alloys with fast kinetics and high recovery yields, and it is also a valuable synthetic approach for metal chlorides in low oxidation states.

A Systematic Review on Fluorescent and Colorimetric Chemosensors for Ion Recognition

: The development of fluorescent and colorimetric chemosensors for selective recognition and sensing of cations has received significant attention in recent decades attributed to their diverse applications in the area of environmental and biological sciences. Chemosensors for the detection of different ions offer advantages, such as high selectivity, sensitivity, low cost and rapid response time with versatility. Therefore, a large number of fluorescent/colorimetric chemosensors have been reported for the detection of biologically and environmentally important species. This review introduces the history, provides a general overview of the recent advances in the developments of fluorescent and colorimetric chemosensors, and discusses some innovative and representative works done by our research group and researchers in the field of chemosensors for target metal ions, such as Al3+, Fe3+, Cu2+, Ag+, Cd2+, Hg2+ and Sn2+ over 7 years’ period, from 2013 to 2020.

COMPARATIVE EXTRACTION OF Mn AND Pb USING EDTA AND CITRATE TO ASSESS THEIR MOBILITY FROM TWO DUMPSITES IN ZARIA METROPOLIS

An estimate of the labile fractions of different trace metals (Mn and Pb) in soil from two dumpsites with complexing agents (EDTA and Citrate) was carried out. The dump sites used for this study receives both commercial and domestic wastes. Physiochemical parameters and the total metal concentrations of the soil was determined, extraction with EDTA and Citrate were used to study the potential metal extraction capacity at different time intervals and the extraction rates of metal released as a function of time (between 0 to 24 hr). The relatively low levels of silt, clay, organic matter and CEC indicates high permeability, hence leachability of heavy metals in the soil and suggest that it might be amenable to remediation by soil washing. The removal efficiency showed that complete solubilization of metals did not occur, as not all the complexing agents added to the soil, was bound to the target metal. This might be due to the presence of other ions such as Ca and Fe which form relatively high stable complexes. EDTA yielded much more than citrate for both metals under consideration. Lead was extracted more than Manganese, which suggest Lead has been more labile in solution than Manganese and EDTA as a stronger complexing agent than citrate. The level of extraction was constant for the period of 60 min to 720 min after which it increased considerably

Melting and ejecta produced by high velocity microparticle impacts of steel on tin

At sufficiently high velocities, a microparticle impacting a metal substrate can cause ejection of material from the substrate and impact-induced melting, both of which can result in erosion. Here we directly image the impact of individual hard steel microparticles on soft tin substrates, at controlled impact velocities in the range of ~100 to 1000 m/s. Using scanning electron and laser-scanning confocal microscopy, we characterize the surface morphology, depth, and volume of each impact crater. We observe a gradual onset of impact-induced melting in the craters, as well as the production of increasing amounts of ejecta from the target metal. By comparing measurements of impact and rebound velocity to an elastic-plastic model, we observe that at a high enough impact velocity, melting and ejection begin to consume additional kinetic energy beyond that expected by plastic deformation of the target material alone. By calculating the excess energy dissipation using this elastic-plastic model, we show that although this divergent behavior is associated with the onset of melting, the majority of the ejected volume must be solid rather than liquid.

Nano-Topographical Control of Ti-Nb-Zr Alloy Surfaces for Enhanced Osteoblastic Response

Nano-scale surface roughening of metallic bio-implants plays an important role in the clinical success of hard tissue reconstruction and replacement. In this study, the nano-topographical features of titanium-niobium-zirconium (TNZ) alloy surfaces were controlled by using the target-ion induced plasma sputtering (TIPS) technique to improve the in vitro osteoblastic response. The TIPS technique is a novel strategy for etching the surface of metallic bio-implants using bombardment of target metal cations, which were accelerated by an extremely high negative bias voltage applied to the substrates. The nano-topography of the TNZ surfaces was successfully controlled by modulating experimental variables (such as the ion etching energy and the type of substrate or target materials) of TIPS. As a result, various nanopatterns (size: 10–210 nm) were fabricated on the surface of the TNZ alloys. Compared with the control group, experimental groups with nanopattern widths of ≥130 nm (130 and 210 nm groups) exhibited superior cell adhesion, proliferation, and differentiation. Our findings demonstrate that TIPS is a promising technology that can impart excellent biological functions to the surface of metallic bio-implants.

Recovery of Zinc from Municipal Solid Waste Incineration Fly Ash

In recent years, over one million tons of Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) incineration fly ash has been generated annually Taiwan. Only a small percentage of the ash was used as raw material for other utilities besides landfill. Fly ash contains many harmful heavy metals, such as Cd and Cr, among others; however, fly ash also contains many valuable metals, including as Zn, Pb, and Ga.To recover Zn from fly ash, in this work, an experiment was first designed to determine the physical and chemical properties of the fly ash. Then, treatment processes, including water leaching, acid leaching, and ion exchange were conducted.Test samples were subjected to scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray fluorescence spectrometer (XRF), and atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS) to determine their physical and chemical properties. Then, water leaching was conducted under optimal experimental conditions. Thereafter, acid leaching was performed using two different acids (hydrochloric and sulfuric) to extract the target metal ions, and finally the ion exchange process was deployed to concentrate and recover the target metal ions.Ultimately, an optimal process to recover zinc from MSW incineration fly ash was developed in this work. An aqueous solution containing approximately 1 wt% zinc was obtained by leaching with sulfuric acid. Zn was then concentrated using a chelating resin IRC-747 in column mode.

Lichens—A Potential Source for Nanoparticles Fabrication: A Review on Nanoparticles Biosynthesis and Their Prospective Applications

Green synthesis of nanoparticles (NPs) is a safe, eco-friendly, and relatively inexpensive alternative to conventional routes of NPs production. These methods require natural resources such as cyanobacteria, algae, plants, fungi, lichens, and naturally extracted biomolecules such as pigments, vitamins, polysaccharides, proteins, and enzymes to reduce bulk materials (the target metal salts) into a nanoscale product. Synthesis of nanomaterials (NMs) using lichen extracts is a promising eco-friendly, simple, low-cost biological synthesis process. Lichens are groups of organisms including multiple types of fungi and algae that live in symbiosis. Until now, the fabrication of NPs using lichens has remained largely unexplored, although the role of lichens as natural factories for synthesizing NPs has been reported. Lichens have a potential reducible activity to fabricate different types of NMs, including metal and metal oxide NPs and bimetallic alloys and nanocomposites. These NPs exhibit promising catalytic and antidiabetic, antioxidant, and antimicrobial activities. To the best of our knowledge, this review provides, for the first time, an overview of the main published studies concerning the use of lichen for nanofabrication and the applications of these NMs in different sectors. Moreover, the possible mechanisms of biosynthesis are discussed, together with the various optimization factors influencing the biological synthesis and toxicity of NPs.