ELECTROMETALLURGY

ELECTROMETALLURGY

➢ method that uses electrical energy to produce metals by electrolysis

➢ field concerned with the processes of metal electrodeposition

Electrowinning
Electrometallurgy Electrorefining
Electroplating
Electroforming

✓ Electrowinning → Extraction of metal from their ores

✓ Electrorefining → Purification of metal
HOW TO EXTRACT METAL?
 HYDROMETALLURGY

• metal processing technology that uses a chemical process

combining water, oxygen or other substances in a
pressurized or other vessel to dissolve a metal from its ore,
concentrate or an intermediate product . Further processing
is required to produce high purity metal.
• Usually involve 3 stages:
• Leaching
• Solution concentration and purification
• Metal recovery
 LEACHING PROCESS

• the use of aqueous solutions to extract metal from metal

bearing materials which is brought into contact with a
material containing a valuable metal.
• the leaching process, oxidation potential, temperature, and
pH of the solution are important parameters, and are often
manipulated to optimize dissolution of the desired metal
component into the aqueous phase.
• Several types of leaching process
• In-situ leaching
• Heap leaching
• Vat leaching
• Agitation leaching
• Autoclave leaching
 IN-SITU LEACHING

• dissolution of metal values from minerals

present in the undisturbed ore body in place.
• Example : Uranium
• Extracted by injecting an acidic or basic
aqueous solution, depending upon the
underlying geology, into the subsurface
through a number of strategically placed
injection well.
• The solution dissolves the uranium from the
deposit in the ground and is then pumped
back to the surface through recovery wells
and sent to the processing plant to be
processed into uranium yellowcake
 HEAP LEACHING

• a technique where run-of-mine or crushed (generally >5 mm)

and/or agglomerated ores are stacked over an engineered
impermable pad, wetted with lixiviant (solvent) chemicals under
atmospheric conditions and leachate (metal loaded solutions)
are collected for metal recovery processes.
• requires longer time periods (weeks to months, even several
years in bio-processes).
• heap leaching, the processed ore stack is generally
decommissioned in place; therefore, this technique does not
require use of a tailings disposal (spent ore repository) facility
• Example : gold, copper, zinc
• Lixiviant : water, dilute alkaline cyanide solution
HEAP LEACHING
Mine truck dumps ore on leach pad.

The Pregnant Solution Pond, collecting the

liquid from the leach pad

Impermeable lining will prevent any leach

liquid from penetrating ground.
 VAT LEACHING

• The ore meant to be leached is loaded into vats that are

typically made of concrete. When leaching has been
completed, the residual solids are dugout of the vat and
replaced by a fresh batch of ore.
• Vat leach units are rectangular containers (drums, barrels,
tanks or vats), usually very big and made of wood or concrete,
lined with material resistant to the leaching media.
• The treated ore is usually coarse. The leaching reagents may
be added to the leaching object in different ways.
 AGITATION LEACHING

• Agitation leaching is a process where the soil

is slurried with the extraction fluid for a period
of time.
• When equilibrium between the metal on the
soils surface and the metal contained by the
solution is approached, the solubilization of
the metal in the soil is slowed, and the
extraction is considered to be complete.
• At equilibrium, additional metal will not be
extracted from the soils surface unless the soil
is subjected to fresh extraction solution.
• Once the process is considered to be at
equilibrium, the soil is separated from the
extraction fluid using sedimentation,
thickening, or clarification.
• The extraction process may be continued in a
separate extraction vat with clean extraction
solution to enhance extraction.
• An agitation vat coupled with a solid-liquid
separation vessel (sedimentation or
clarification) is considered to be a single stage
 AUTOCLAVE LEACHING

• Autoclave/ Pressure leaching is the chemical dissolution of

soluble minerals within a solid ore or concentrate carried
out at elevated pressures and giving rise to a solution
containing metals to be recovered.
• The process is carried out in closed autoclaves which
permit higher temperatures (>220°C) and pressures (>20
atm) than are possible with open tanks.
• The increased pressure improves the solubility rate of solids
and increases the speed of dissolution into the leach
solution. Because of the very fast kinetics, the duration of
the leaching is short - from 30 minutes up to 24 hours
depending on the concentrate being leached and
conditions applied.
• The high pressure makes the method ideal for oxidative
leaching of sulfides since the content of dissolved oxygen
in the leaching solution is directly proportional to the
pressure.
• Also in acid leaching of sulfides it can be chosen if the
sulfide should be converted to elemental sulfur (S°) or
sulfate (SO42-). At temperatures below 120-150°C
elemental sulfur is formed which in many cases is a
preferred form and also requires less oxidant to be
added.
• Pressure leaching is applied in the leaching of Co and Ni
sulfides with ammonia as leaching reagent, in the so-
called Sherrit Gordon process.
• Another considerable application of pressure leaching is
the Bayer process where bauxite is leached with sodium
hydroxide to produce alumina (Al2O3), which is used as
raw material for aluminium production by smelt
electrolysis.
 SOLUTION PURIFICATION AND CONCENTRATION

• This step usually involves chemical separations.

• Purpose : removing undesirable impurities to increase the
metal concentration
• the solution purification can be stated to be achieved by
using any one or a combination of the following processes :
• ion exchange
• solvent extraction
 ION EXCHANGE

• Chelating agents, natural zeolite, activated carbon, resins,

and liquid organics impregnated with chelating agents are
all used to exchange cations or anions with the solution.
Selectivity and recovery are a function of the reagents used
and the contaminants present.
 SOLVENT EXTRACTION

• method to separate compounds based on their relative solubilities

in two different immiscible liquids, usually water and an organic
solvent
• consists of transferring one (or more) solute(s) contained in a feed
solution to another immiscible liquid (solvent).
• The solvent that is enriched in solute(s) is called Extract & the feed
solution that is depleted of solute(s) is called Raffinate.
• The extract than being send for metal recovery process.
 METAL RECOVERY

• the metal needs to be recovered from solution in the solid

form. This is either achieved chemically, or electrochemically
• Two method for metal recovery process:
• Precipitation - chemical precipitation of either metals and
their compounds or of the contaminants from aqueous
solutions. Precipitation will proceed when, through reagent
addition, evaporation, pH change or temperature
manipulation, any given species exceeds its limit of
solubility.
• Electrolysis - Electrowinning and electrorefining
respectively involve the recovery and purification of metals
using electrodeposition of metals at the cathode, and
either metal dissolution or a competing oxidation reaction
at the anode.