Designing Heap Leaching for Nickel Production that Environmentally and Economically Sustain

Abstract

Abstract-Some of laterite mineral from Southeast Sulawesi, Indonesia, has low grade nickel contain. This research was done in 3 steps to analyze the possibility of extracting nickel from low grade laterite for industry. In the first step of this research heap leaching method is used in laboratory scale for extracting the nickel from laterite mineral using sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid. The result of the first step research is the higher the acid concentration used will be the more concentration of nickel produced in the Pregnant Leach Solution (PLS), and with the same concentration of sulfuric acid to produce more nickel than hydrochloric acid. The second step of this research was done in micro industry scale using sulfuric acid to leach nickel from laterite with the variety of laterite height and sulfuric acid concentration. The result from the second step research is stated that 2 M of sulfuric acid is the optimum concentration and 1.5 m laterite sample height. The third step of this research is to design the pilot industry scale for nickel heap leaching reactor with bamboo as a part of reactor and to analyze the feasibility cost. The reactors designed in this study do not produce waste, so that it is expected to meet environmental sustainability rules. The results of the calculation show that the heap leaching reactors designed in this reseach will economically sustain, and will give benefit for 126.13 US $ for each nickel production.

Pelindian Bijih Nikel Laterit Kadar Rendah Menggunakan Metode Atmospheric Acid Leaching Dalam Media Asam Klorida (Hcl)

“…Indonesia merupakan salah satu negara dengan potensi nikel terbesar di dunia termasuk bijih nikel laterit. Listyarini (2017) melaporkan profil endapan nikel laterit di daerah Palangga yang merupakan salah satu wilayah di Indonesia memiliki potensi nikel laterit yang melimpah. Saat ini, High-Pressure Acid Leaching (HPAL) dan pirometalurgi merupakan dua teknologi utama yang digunakan pada ekstraksi nikel laterit (Rao et al, 2013).…”

“…Saat ini, High-Pressure Acid Leaching (HPAL) dan pirometalurgi merupakan dua teknologi utama yang digunakan pada ekstraksi nikel laterit (Rao et al, 2013). Selama ini proses pengolahan nikel laterit di Indonesia umumnya menggunakan proses pirometalurgi yang memerlukan energi dan biaya sangat besar untuk menjalankan prosesnya (Listyarini, 2017). Beberapa cadangan bijih nikel dengan kadar yang tinggi sudah dieksploitasi dan diproses melalui jalur proses pirometalurgi untuk menghasilkan ferronikel ataupun nikel matte.…”

Extraction of Nickel from Morowali Laterite Ore with Nitric Acid

“…The pyrometallurgical process also causes environmental problems, such as air pollution due to using high temperatures. In addition, this process also requires high energy and high costs to run (Listyarini, 2017;Simate et al, 2010).…”