Development of a process for the concentration of the strategic tantalum and niobium oxides from tin slags

Allain, Eric; Kanari, Ndue; Diot, Frédéric; Yvon, Jacques

doi:10.1016/j.mineng.2019.01.029

Cited by 45 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…In general, material savings, substitution and recycling (including eco-design) can mitigate the risk of anticipated shortage of critical metals. Critical and strategic materials are often used in unique applications with limited alternatives and substitutions [2]. Note that the actual and future demand for several of these materials are expected to strongly grow, especially for the production of electric and electronic devices, while the life-spans of many products such as computers and cell phone are decreasing rapidly [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermochemical Route for Extraction and Recycling of Critical, Strategic and High Value Elements from By-Products and End-of-Life Materials, Part I: Treatment of a Copper By-Product in Air Atmosphere

et al. 2019

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Development of our modern society requests a number of critical and strategic elements (platinum group metals, In, Ga, Ge…) and high value added elements (Au, Ag, Se, Te, Ni…) which are often concentrated in by-products during the extraction of base metals (Cu, Pb, Zn…). Further, recycling of end-of-life materials employed in high technology, renewable energy and transport by conventional extractive processes also leads to the concentration of such chemical elements and their compounds in metallurgical by-products and/or co-products. One of these materials, copper anode slime (CAS), derived from a copper electrolytic refining factory, was used for this study. The sample was subjected to isothermal treatment from 225 to 770 °C under air atmosphere and the reaction products were systematically analyzed by scanning electron microscopy through energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) to investigate the thermal behavior of the treated sample. The main components of the anode slime (CuAgSe, Cu2-xSeyS1-y, Ag3AuSe2) react with oxygen, producing mostly copper and selenium oxides as well as Ag-Au alloys as final products at temperatures higher than 500 °C. Selenium dioxide (SeO2) is volatilized and recovered in pure state by cooling the gaseous phase, whilst copper(II) oxide, silver, gold and tellurium remain in the treatment residue.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermochemical Route for Extraction and Recycling of Critical, Strategic and High Value Elements from By-Products and End-of-Life Materials, Part I: Treatment of a Copper By-Product in Air Atmosphere

et al. 2019

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“…The results described in Part I [ 1 ] of this investigation combined with research works cited therein [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ] gave a general view of needs and secondary sources for a large range of materials, identified frequently as critical and strategic materials, and they are indispensable for present and forthcoming innovations in renewable energies, transportation and cutting-edge technologies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 78%

Thermochemical Route for Extraction and Recycling of Critical, Strategic and High-Value Elements from By-Products and End-of-Life Materials, Part II: Processing in Presence of Halogenated Atmosphere

et al. 2020

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During the treatment of copper anode slime (CAS) under an air atmosphere, several aspects of the interactions of its main components (CuAgSe, Cu2−xSeyS1−y, Ag3AuSe2) with oxygen were described in Part I. As a comparative and complementary study, this work deals with the thermal behavior of CAS under air in the presence of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) between 195 and 770 °C. The preliminary thermal treatment of an e-waste sample containing brominated substances was also performed. The reaction products were systematically analyzed by scanning electron microscopy through energy-dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) to investigate the thermal behaviors of the studied samples in a halogenated medium. At low temperatures, the copper, silver and selenium compounds of the CAS reacted with the HCl, issued from PVC degradation, leading to the formation of their respective chlorides. Bromides of valuable metals (Cu, Pb, Sn…) were synthesized during the e-waste treatment at 500 °C and they were distributed between the solid residue and gaseous phase. The data obtained give an insight into the reactivity of several metals towards halogenated substances, which may be valuable information for conducting the extraction and recycling of targeted elements from industrial by-products and end-of-life materials by a thermochemical route.

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“…Other authors have studied the recovery of such elements using different chemicals in order to separate Ta and Nb during the leaching and the solvent extraction process [39,40]. However, the study proposed in this paper reflects an increase of the recovery ratio in comparison with the literature review, obtaining higher amounts of both minerals at the end of the refining process.…”

Section: Model For Recovering Nb and Ta From Slagsmentioning

confidence: 91%

Simulation to Recover Niobium and Tantalum From the Tin Slags of the Penouta Mine: A Case Study

Magdalena¹,

Valero²,

Calvo³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Demand for niobium and tantalum is increasing exponentially as these are essential ingredients for the manufacture of, among others, capacitors in technological devices and ferroniobium. Mine tailings rich in such elements could constitute an important source of Nb and Ta in the future and so alleviate potential supply risks. This paper evaluates the possibility of recovering niobium and tantalum from the slags generated during the tin beneficiation process of mine tailings from the old Penouta mine, located in Spain. To do so, a simulation of the processes that would be required to beneficiate and refine both elements is carried out. After tin carbothermic reduction, the slags are sent to a hydrometallurgical process where at the end niobium oxide and tantalum oxide are obtained. Reagents, water and energy consumption, in addition to emissions, effluents and product yields are assessed. Certain factors were identified as critical, and recirculation was encouraged in the model to maximize production and minimize reagents use and wastes. With this simulation, considering 3000 production hours per year, the metal output from the tailings of the old mine could cover around 1% and 7.4% of the world annual Nb and Ta demand, respectively.

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Development of a process for the concentration of the strategic tantalum and niobium oxides from tin slags

Cited by 45 publications

References 9 publications

Thermochemical Route for Extraction and Recycling of Critical, Strategic and High Value Elements from By-Products and End-of-Life Materials, Part I: Treatment of a Copper By-Product in Air Atmosphere

Thermochemical Route for Extraction and Recycling of Critical, Strategic and High Value Elements from By-Products and End-of-Life Materials, Part I: Treatment of a Copper By-Product in Air Atmosphere

Thermochemical Route for Extraction and Recycling of Critical, Strategic and High-Value Elements from By-Products and End-of-Life Materials, Part II: Processing in Presence of Halogenated Atmosphere

Simulation to Recover Niobium and Tantalum From the Tin Slags of the Penouta Mine: A Case Study

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