Methods for recovering metals using oxalate compounds

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2022349025-A1
Application number	US-202117243032-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Apr 28, 2021
Priority date	Apr 28, 2021
Publication date	Nov 3, 2022
Grant date	—

Abstract

Methods for recovering a metal from a metal-containing material are provided. In embodiments, such a method comprises exposing a metal-containing material to a leaching solution comprising a solvent and a binoxalate, a tetraoxalate, or a combination thereof, under conditions to provide a leachate comprising a soluble metal oxalate; inducing precipitation of a metal-containing precipitate comprising the metal of the soluble metal oxalate from the leachate; and recovering the metal-containing precipitate.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method for recovering a metal from a metal-containing material, the method comprising:
(a) exposing a metal-containing material to a leaching solution comprising a solvent and a binoxalate, a tetraoxalate, or a combination thereof, under conditions to provide a leachate comprising a soluble metal oxalate; (b) inducing precipitation of a metal-containing precipitate comprising the metal of the soluble metal oxalate from the leachate; and (c) recovering the metal-containing precipitate.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the metal-containing material is not ilmenite and is not a lithium-ion battery electrode material.

3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the metal-containing material is bauxite.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the binoxalate has formula AHC 2 O 4 and the tetraoxalate has formula AHC 2 O 4 .H 2 C 2 O 4 , wherein A is an ammonium cation, NR 4 , wherein each R is independently selected from a group consisting of hydrogen and an alkyl group; or A is an alkali metal cation.

5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein at least one R is not hydrogen.

6 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the binoxalate is not NH 4 HC 2 O 4 .

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the binoxalate has formula AHC 2 O 4 and the tetraoxalate has formula AHC 2 O 4 .H 2 C 2 O 4 , wherein A is an alkali metal cation.

8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the binoxalate is KHC 2 O 4 , NaHC 2 O 4 , or a combination thereof and the tetraoxalate is KHC 2 O 4 .H 2 C 2 O 4 .

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein at least two metals of the metal-containing material to be recovered are each present in the leachate as respective soluble metal oxalates.

10 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
(d) inducing precipitation of a second metal-containing precipitate from the leachate comprising a second soluble metal oxalate, the second metal-containing precipitate comprising the metal of the second soluble metal oxalate; and (e) recovering the second metal-containing precipitate.

11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the metal-containing precipitate precipitates out of the leachate at a first pH value and step (d) comprises adjusting the pH of the leachate to a second pH value to induce precipitation of the second metal-containing precipitate.

12 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising recovering the binoxalate, the tetraoxalate, or the combination thereof, from the leachate.

13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the binoxalate, the tetraoxalate, or the combination thereof, is recovered by adjusting the leachate's pH to induce precipitation of the binoxalate, the tetraoxalate, or the combination thereof

14 . A method for recovering a metal from bauxite, the method comprising:
(a) exposing bauxite to a leaching solution comprising a solvent and a binoxalate, a tetraoxalate, or a combination thereof, under conditions to provide a leachate comprising a Fe soluble metal oxalate and an Al soluble metal oxalate; (b) inducing precipitation of a Fe-containing precipitate from the leachate by adjusting the leachate's pH to a first value; (c) recovering the Fe-containing precipitate; (d) inducing precipitation of an Al-containing precipitate from the leachate by adjusting the leachate's pH to a second value; and (e) recovering the Al-containing precipitate.

15 . The method of claim 14 , further comprising recovering the binoxalate, the tetraoxalate, or the combination thereof from the leachate.

16 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the binoxalate has formula AHC 2 O 4 , wherein A is an ammonium cation, NR 4 , wherein each R is independently selected from a group consisting of hydrogen and an alkyl group; or A is an alkali metal cation.

17 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the binoxalate has formula AHC 2 O 4 and the tetraoxalate has formula AHC 2 O 4 .H 2 C 2 O 4 , wherein A is an alkali metal cation.

18 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the binoxalate is KHC 2 O 4 , NaHC 2 O 4 , or a combination thereof and the tetraoxalate is KHC 2 O 4 .H 2 C 2 O 4 .

19 . The method of claim 17 , wherein the binoxalate is KHC 2 O 4 and the tetraoxalate is KHC 2 O 4 .H 2 C 2 O 4

20 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the Al-containing precipitate is processed to form aluminum oxide and the aluminum oxide is used as a feedstock for the production of aluminum metal.

Assignees

• Univ Kansas

Inventors

• Shiflett Mark Brandon
• Corbin David Richard
• Verma Ankit

Classifications

• C22B59/00

  Obtaining rare earth metals · CPC title

• C22B34/1259

  treatment or purification of titanium containing solutions or liquors or slurries (C01G23/001 takes precedence) · CPC title

• C22B21/0015 Primary

  by wet processes (C22B21/02, C22B21/04 and C22B21/06 take precedence) · CPC title

• C22B3/44 Primary

  by chemical processes (treatment or purification of solutions by liquid-liquid extraction C22B3/26, by ion-exchange extraction C22B3/42) · CPC title

• C22B3/42

  by ion-exchange extraction · CPC title