SisClever: Pure and Concentrated Products From Multicomponent Mixtures – Applied to Urban Mining

Abstract

The SisClever Process facilitates the simultaneous separation of multicomponent systems, achieving high concentrations and purities of individual products. A notable application is the hydrometallurgical separation of metals using cation-exchange extractants, where the pH is systematically varied along the counter-current process. The process is modeled based on phase equilibria and validated through experiments separating Zn²⁺ and Co²⁺. The efficiency of the process is demonstrated for the separation of a complex mixture of rare-earth metals, where only roughly a third of equilibrium stages is required compared to an optimized proposal from literature. Possible applications in recycling, generalization to other unit operations, as well as limitations are discussed.