Extraction of nickel from lateritic ores

Date

2008

Author

Büyükakıncı, Ergin

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The aim of this study was to extract nickel and cobalt from the lateritic nickel ores of Gördes region by hydrometallurgical methods under the optimum conditions. Limonitic and nontronitic types of Gördes lateritic nickel ores were used during experiments. Agitative and column leaching experiments at atmospheric pressure were conducted with various parameters; these were duration, temperature and initial sulfuric acid concentration of leach solution. It was shown that in agitative leaching, under the optimum conditions that were determined as 24 hours of leaching at 95°C with initial sulfuric acid concentration of 192.1 g/L for nontronite and 240.1 g/L for limonite, nickel and cobalt extractions were 96.0% and 63.4% for nontronite; 93.1% and 75.0% for limonite, respectively. Overall acid consumptions of ores were calculated as 669 kg H2SO4/ton dry ore for nontronitic type nickel ore and 714 kg H2SO4/ton dry ore for limonitic type nickel ore. Column leaching experiments also showed that nickel and cobalt could be extracted from both ore types by heap leaching. Nontronite type of laterite was found to be more suitable for column leaching by sulfuric acid. In column leaching, the calculated nickel and cobalt extractions were 83.9% and 55.2% for nontronite after 122 days of leaching with 100 g/L sulfuric acid concentration. Acid consumption of nontronite was found to be 462 kg H2SO4/ton dry ore.

Subject Keywords

Metallurgy.

URI

http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12609291/index.pdf
https://hdl.handle.net/11511/17535

Collections

Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences, Theses