Low-cost alternative for iron recovery in lateritic nickel production by using ferronickel refining slag and kiln dust for iron precipitation from acid leachate

IF 4.8 2区材料科学 Q1 METALLURGY & METALLURGICAL ENGINEERING

Hydrometallurgy Pub Date : 2025-07-23 DOI:10.1016/j.hydromet.2025.106547

Gabriela Costa Caetano , Flávia Corrêa Rodrigues , Indianara Conceição Ostroski , Maria Angélica Simões Dornellas de Barros

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Iron is a primary contaminant in the acid-leaching solution during lateritic nickel production. Additionally, the accumulation of pyrometallurgical tailings from conventional nickel ore processing presents a significant challenge for industrial mining operations. This study addresses these issues by utilizing ferronickel slags (refining slag and kiln dust) as alternative neutralizing agents for the precipitation and recovery of iron from sulfuric leaching solutions. A 2³ factorial orthogonal experimental design, including two central points and six axial points, was employed to investigate the effects of agent concentrations on iron precipitation and nickel co-precipitation. The results were optimized based on response surface analysis and filtration resistance parameters. Slags and precipitated materials were characterized using XRD and XRF techniques, while initial and final liquors were analyzed via ICP-OES. Due to its high CaO content (58.33 wt%), the slag exhibited a neutralizing capacity comparable to commercial calcium and sodium carbonates. Optimal concentrations of slag (5.14 %) and kiln dust (25 %) achieved approximately 80 % removal of Fe²⁺/Fe³⁺, alongside a 46 % increase in Ni²⁺ recovery from the initial leaching solution. Precipitated iron oxides can be recovered through a reduction step, followed by washing or magnetic separation.

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利用镍铁精炼渣和窑尘从酸性渗滤液中析出铁，实现红土镍生产中铁的低成本回收

铁是红土镍生产过程中酸浸液中的主要污染物。此外，传统镍矿加工产生的火法冶金尾矿的积累对工业采矿作业构成了重大挑战。本研究通过利用镍铁渣（精炼渣和窑尘）作为硫浸出溶液中铁的沉淀和回收的替代中和剂来解决这些问题。采用23因子正交试验设计，包括2个中心点和6个轴点，研究药剂浓度对铁沉淀和镍共沉淀的影响。基于响应面分析和过滤阻力参数对结果进行了优化。采用XRD和XRF技术对炉渣和沉淀物进行了表征，并采用ICP-OES对原液和终液进行了分析。由于CaO含量高（58.33 wt%），炉渣表现出与商用碳酸钙和碳酸钠相当的中和能力。炉渣（5.14%）和窑尘（25%）的最佳浓度可实现约80%的Fe2+/Fe3+去除率，同时初始浸出液中Ni2+回收率提高46%。沉淀的氧化铁可以通过还原步骤回收，然后进行洗涤或磁分离。

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来源期刊

Hydrometallurgy 工程技术-冶金工程

CiteScore

9.50

自引率

6.40%

发文量

144

审稿时长

3.4 months

期刊介绍： Hydrometallurgy aims to compile studies on novel processes, process design, chemistry, modelling, control, economics and interfaces between unit operations, and to provide a forum for discussions on case histories and operational difficulties. Topics covered include: leaching of metal values by chemical reagents or bacterial action at ambient or elevated pressures and temperatures; separation of solids from leach liquors; removal of impurities and recovery of metal values by precipitation, ion exchange, solvent extraction, gaseous reduction, cementation, electro-winning and electro-refining; pre-treatment of ores by roasting or chemical treatments such as halogenation or reduction; recycling of reagents and treatment of effluents.