Study on Ultrasonically-Enhanced Sulfuric Acid Leaching of Nickel from Nickel-Containing Residue

Abstract

In this paper, nickel-containing residue, a typical solid waste produced in the battery production process, was used to study the cavitation characteristics of ultrasonic waves in a liquid–solid reaction. The ultrasonically-enhanced leaching technology for multicomponent and complex nickel-containing residue was studied through systematic ultrasonic-conventional comparative experiments. An ultrasonic leaching kinetics model was established which provided reliable technological guidance and basic theory for the comprehensive utilization of nickel-containing residue. In the study, it was found that ultrasonically-enhanced leaching for 40 min obtained the same result as conventional leaching for 80 min, and the Ni extraction degree reached more than 95%. According to the kinetic fitting of the leaching process, it was found that the sulfuric acid leaching process belonged to the diffusion-controlled model of solid product layers under conventional and ultrasonic conditions, and the activation energy of the reaction was Ea1 = 17.74 kJ/mol and Ea2 = 5.04 kJ/mol, respectively.

A comprehensive review on the ultrasound-enhanced leaching recovery of valuable metals: Applications, mechanisms and prospects

“…Ultrasound-assisted leaching technology has been extensively applied to extract valuable metals from metal ores, such as vanadium-bearing shale [16] , [19] , chalcopyrite [26] , [49] , scheelite [25] , [50] , [51] , zinc oxide ore [30] , [52] , [53] , nickel laterite ore [17] , rare earth ore [29] , refractory gold ore [27] , [54] , [55] , [56] , [57] , [58] , uranium ore [59] , [60] , K-feldspar [31] , copper-bearing biotite [43] , refractory silver ore [61] , eudialyte [62] , quartz sand [63] , [64] , [65] , [66] , [67] , [68] , poly-metallic sulfide ore [13] , deep-sea nodules [69] , phosphorus-potassium associated ore [21] , sphalerite [32] , and magmatic rocks [70] . In addition, ultrasound-assisted leaching has also been developed with successful enhancement in the leaching efficiency of metals from secondary resources, including metallurgical residues [3] , [15] , [35] , [38] , [39] , [42] , [48] , [71] , [72] , [73] , [74] , [75] , [76] , [77] , [78] , [79] , [80] , [81] , [82] , [83] , [84] , [85] , [86] , spent catalysts [33] , [37] , …”

“…In the meantime, ultrasonic leaching has also been used as a high-efficiency method for the recovery of Ni from electroplating sludge, spent catalysts, spent batteries, etc. [33] , [81] , [87] , [88] , [103] , [108] , [119] . Oza et al [88] probed the effects of various leaching factors on the recovery of Ni from spent catalysts by HNO 3 leaching assisted by ultrasound.…”

“…Moreover, the activation energy was sharply decreased from 31.52 kJ/mol to 10.37 kJ/mol. The diffusion through the product layer controlled the leaching process of Ni from nickel-containing residue in the conventional and ultrasound systems using the SCM [81] , and the activation energy of the leaching reaction was 17.74 kJ/mol and 5.04 kJ/mol, respectively, with and without the assistance of ultrasound.…”