Pressure hydrometallurgy: A new chance to non-polluting processes

Abstract

A wide spectrum of hydrometallurgical processes offers many promising approaches for industrial application in order to improve the environmental impact of conventional metals productions, or for replacing hydrometallurgical processes whose gas emissions and a high content of formed metals (As, Cr, Pb) are becoming increasingly unacceptable. The main advantages of pressure hydrometallurgy are fast kinetics, enhanced selectivity over iron and other dissolved species. The pioneer work on hydrometallurgical operation (dissolution, precipitation, metal winning) was performed in Russia at the beginning of the previous century, mainly by Ipatieff and Bayer, each working independently in Saint Petersburg. Gradually, industrial application took place firstly in aluminium and later in nickel production. Today, in addition to nickel and aluminium, the pressure hydrometallurgy is well established in a wide spectrum of industrial applications for production of different metals (gold, zinc, molybdenium, titanium, germanium) from ore deposits and secondary materials. High pressure leaching in combination with other metallurgical operations (cementation, precipitation, solvent extraction, and electrowinning) provides an adequate technology to reintroduce lost metals into the industrial cycle, thereby saving resources and energy, while keeping the environment cleaner. It seems that pressure hydrometallurgy might be a very important key to better and nonpolluting processes in production of metals.

Keywords

• high pressure
• hydrometallurgy
• metal
• environmental protection