With the presentation of a theory of liquid alloys, we have now assembled all the necessary tools for the ab initio construction of an alloy phase diagram.

Alloy Phase Diagrams

Electric car battery: An overview on global demand, recycling and future approaches towards sustainability.

The climate change impacts of mining are often not fully accounted for, although the environmental impact of mineral extraction more generally is widely studied. Copper mining can serve as a case study to analyse the measurable pathways by which mining contributes to climate change through direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions. For example, mining, processing and transportation require fuel and electricity, and the decomposition of carbonate minerals, employed to reduce environmental impacts, also releases carbon dioxide. Overall, we estimate that greenhouse gas emissions associated with primary mineral and metal production was equivalent to approximately 10% of the total global energy-related greenhouse gas emissions in 2018. For copper mining, fuel consumption increased by 130% and electricity consumption increased by 32% per unit of mined copper in Chile from 2001 to 2017, largely due to decreasing ore grade. This trend of increasing energy demand to produce the same quantity of some metals compounds the problems of increased metal demand due to the pressures of new technologies and increasing population. For green technologies to be implemented effectively, it is necessary that the mining industry and regulators accurately and transparently account for greenhouse gas emissions to implement mitigation strategies. Direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions from mining for green technologies need to be accurately and transparently accounted for, as highlighted by a case study of Chilean copper mining.

Transparency on greenhouse gas emissions from mining to enable climate change mitigation

Evaluation of red mud as a polymetallic source – A review

Red mud is generated at a rate of up to 1755 million tons per year The global stockpile of red mud is near 4 billion tons This material is hazardous with pH values from 11 to 13 Reduction of th

Red Mud: Fundamentals and New Avenues for Utilization

Copper and cobalt can be found on nickel laterite ores, and cobalt can be found also on copper ores, and many contaminants such as iron, aluminum, and magnesium are associated with these ores. In hydrometallurgical process, a purification step is necessary after leaching due to the presence of these impurities. Chelating resins are more selective for some metals than others, making them more efficient than cationic resins. This overview discusses chelating resin applications to recover copper, nickel, and cobalt from mining process and mining tailings and the effect of contaminants in leach solution. Chelating resins with iminodiacetate functional group can be used for selective copper recovery, and both iminodiacetate and bis-picolylamine resins are highly selective for nickel and cobalt. Chelating resins with the same functional group can have different performances on the kinetics of loading, because of variations of structure, the density of functional group, and degree of cross-linking. This article reviews commercial chelating resins that can be applied in leach solutions with different compositions, and also possible innovations for uses of chelating resins to recover metals from mining process and mining tailings.

A Review of Nickel, Copper, and Cobalt Recovery by Chelating Ion Exchange Resins from Mining Processes and Mining Tailings

The goal of this work was to study the effect of iron oxidation state for Cu(II) recovery. Two different solutions of nickel laterite leach were prepared with Fe(III) and with Fe(II) for th...

Effect of iron oxidation state for copper recovery from nickel laterite leach solution using chelating resin

Chelating ion exchange resins can be used to recover metals from nickel laterite leach solution. The main problem is the high presence of iron. In pH above 2.00, iron precipitates and there is co-precipitation of copper and cobalt, which decreases recovery process efficiency. To solve this problem, a conversion of Fe(III) to Fe(II) can be the solution, where Fe(II) will precipitate just at pH 5.00. This reducing process can also increase metals recovery, where ferrous iron occupies less active sites on the resin than ferric iron. However, studies do not evaluate what happens to the resin under this situation. This work aimed to study the copper, nickel and cobalt recovery using chelating ion exchange resin Lewatit TP 207 and reducing process using sodium dithionite 1 mol.L−1. Sodium dithionite was used to convert Fe(III) to Fe(II). The effect of reducing agent on the resin was studied. Three different solutions where prepared to simulate the real nickel laterite leach solution. Batch experiments were performed to study the effect of pH to recover metals and to compare the results with and without the reducing agent. Results showed that metals adsorption increased when the ferric iron was converted to ferrous iron by reducing process. Chelating resin adsorbed more copper and also was selective for this metal at pH 2.50. Nickel and cobalt adsorption were higher at pH 3.50, but the resin was not selective for these metals under this pH. The order of selectivity of chelating resin changed when pH increased.

Recovery of metals by ion exchange process using chelating resin and sodium dithionite

As the demand for rare earth elements (REE) increases in the coming years, techniques to obtain these elements from different sources may be explored. A hydrometallurgical route may achieve the sus...

Amilton Barbosa Botelho Junior

Papers

Electric car battery: An overview on global demand, recycling and future approaches towards sustainability.

A Review of Nickel, Copper, and Cobalt Recovery by Chelating Ion Exchange Resins from Mining Processes and Mining Tailings

Effect of iron oxidation state for copper recovery from nickel laterite leach solution using chelating resin

Recovery of metals by ion exchange process using chelating resin and sodium dithionite

Adsorption of lanthanum and cerium on chelating ion exchange resins: kinetic and thermodynamic studies