Chemical Engineering November 2010 - 15

ChementatoR
Biomass-to-chemicals
A less-expensive process for leaching Ni from laterite
A
hydrometallurgical process for nickel laterite
deposits - believed to be the only
process capable of treating any laterite deposits,
from limonitic to saprolitic ores, in a
single flowsheet - has been developed by
Direct Nickel Pty. Ltd. (DNi; Sydney, Australia;
www.directnickel.com). Researchers
from CSIRO's Minerals Down Under Flagship
(www.csiro.au), are supporting DNi's
efforts at the Australian Minerals Research
Center in Perth, Western Australia. The DNi
process is now being optimized in the laboratory
and will be put to the test in a demonstration
program using a purpose-built
plant that is due for completion in mid-2011.
DNi and CSIRO are in discussions with engineering
companies interested in building
the new pilot minerals-processing facility at
CSIRO's Waterford laboratories in Perth.
The front end of the DNi process involves
a tank leach process operating at atmospheric
pressure and moderate temperature.
Whereas current processes for treating
laterite-nickel ores consume large quantities
of sulfuric acid - much of it requiring
costly neutralization after use - the DNi
process uses nitric acid, which is continuously
recycled. The high recovery of HNO3
(exceeding 95%) is a unique feature of the
process. HNO3 consumption is about 30 kg/
m.t. of feed material compared to 300-1,000
kg/m.t. for H2SO4-based leaching processes.
After leaching, the insoluble residue is
neutralized and sent to a waste disposal facility,
and the leachate processed to extract
the individual metals. Processing leads to a
marketable mixed-hydroxide product containing
nickel and cobalt. Extraction efficiencies
exceed 95% of Ni and 85% of cobalt.
Coproducts are Fe2O3, Al2O3 and MgO.
Graham Brock, project manager for DNi,
says alternative processes, such as high-pressure
acid leaching, are uneconomic when the
magnesium content of the ore reaches about
3%, whereas there is no upper limit in the
DNi process. The process is highly efficient,
with operating and capital costs close to half
of existing processes, says the company.
Avantium (Amsterdam, the
Netherlands; www.avantium.
com) has developed a proprietary
catalytic process to
convert carbohydrates into
furanic building blocks tradenamed
YXY. The company
has started construction of
a pilot plant at the Chemelot
site in Geelen, the Netherlands.
When the unit starts
up in the first quarter of next
year, it will produce YXY
building blocks for making
materials (bottles, carpets,
textiles fibers, coatings and
plasticizers) and fuels. The
pilot plant is partially funded
(€1 million) by the Dutch Ministry
of Agriculture.
EAF productivity
Siemens VIA Metals Technologies
(Linz, Austria; www.siemens.com/metals)
has developed
a contact-free method to
measure the liquid-steel-bath
temperature of electric arc
furnaces (EAF). In contrast to
(Continues on p. 16)
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Chemical Engineering November 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chemical Engineering November 2010
