Comparative study of selective copper recovery techniques from nickel laterite leach waste towards a competitive sustainable extractive process

Abstract

The launch of the 17 SDGs in 2015 cast a light in the challenges on sustainable development impacting directly all industrial process, including extractives. As a result, distinct raw materials, even residues, and industrial routes are being rethought to achieve the objectives. The main challenge of nickel limonite processing is the selective separation of target elements due to high-iron content, which is not well explored in the literature, making this material being considered as a waste Different techniques are explored for selective separation of copper, nickel, and cobalt. So, the motivation of the present work was to compare the ion exchange resin (Dowex XUS43605) and precipitation (sodium dithionite) for copper recovery. Batch experiments were carried in a multi-elementary system. Kinetic and thermodynamic parameters were evaluated focusing on industrial modeling. Results showed that the precipitation using sodium dithionite was more selective than chelating resin. On the other hand, sulfide hydrogen may be released making it dangerous for handling; furthermore, the ion exchange process is normally performed as continuous unlike precipitation, which is more suitable for industrial applications. Copper adsorption fitted better to Langmuir isotherm and pseudo second-order. The present study concludes that chelating resin is recommended to reach the SDGs goals.