The Effect of Alkali Roasting Pretreatment on Nickel Extraction from Limonite Ore by Using Dissolved SO2-Air
1
Chemical Engineering Product Design and Development Research Group, Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Industrial Technology, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Bandung 40132, Indonesia
2
Department of Bioprocess Engineering, Faculty of Biotechnology, Institute of Technology Del, Toba Samosir 22381, Indonesia
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Minerals 2020, 10(8), 701; https://doi.org/10.3390/min10080701
Received: 20 July 2020 / Revised: 30 July 2020 / Accepted: 30 July 2020 / Published: 7 August 2020
(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Processing of Alternative and Urban Ores)
Extraction of limonite ore using dissolved SO2–air is an alternative hydrometallurgical method for nickel recovery. This process is carried out at atmospheric pressure and is shown to have good selectivity of nickel over iron, but with a low recovery yield. The literature refers to the application of alkali roasting as pretreatment in laterite ore leaching to increase nickel recovery. Thus, this study aims to apply the combination method of alkali roasting and leaching to extract nickel from limonite ore (1.33% Ni, 46.61% Fe) from the Southeast Sulawesi region. Three alkali compounds were included in the study (NaOH, Na2CO3 and Na2SO4). The batch-leaching process was carried out at pH 1 and 3 and temperatures of 55 and 80 C for 180 min. The leach liquors were sampled at 15, 60, 90 and 120 min, and concentrations of the extracted metals were measured by Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS). A mineralogy characterization of the raw ore and its residue after leaching was undertaken by using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), while the thermal decomposition behavior of the ore was characterized by Thermogravimetry Analyzer (TGA)/Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC). The addition of Na2CO3, Na2SO4 and NaOH in the ore pretreatment increases nickel recovery from 14.80% without alkali roasting to 23.99%, 28.15% and 39.22%, respectively. The optimum extraction condition for nickel recovery is at pH 1 and a temperature of 80 C. However, the highest Ni/Fe selectivity of 24,947 is obtained at pH 3 and a temperature of 80 C, preceded by roasting in the absence of alkali. Compared to other hydrometallurgical processes, the process studied in this work exhibits lower recovery, but provides an alternative to extract nickel from low-grade limonite ore.
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Keywords:
limonite ore; SO2; pretreatment; alkali roasting; nickel leaching
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MDPI and ACS Style
Wulandari, W.; Kinda, M.M.; Murida, R.; Samadhi, T.W. The Effect of Alkali Roasting Pretreatment on Nickel Extraction from Limonite Ore by Using Dissolved SO2-Air. Minerals 2020, 10, 701. https://doi.org/10.3390/min10080701
AMA Style
Wulandari W, Kinda MM, Murida R, Samadhi TW. The Effect of Alkali Roasting Pretreatment on Nickel Extraction from Limonite Ore by Using Dissolved SO2-Air. Minerals. 2020; 10(8):701. https://doi.org/10.3390/min10080701
Chicago/Turabian StyleWulandari, Winny; Kinda, Meiyer M.; Murida, Rahmaditha; Samadhi, Tjokorde W. 2020. "The Effect of Alkali Roasting Pretreatment on Nickel Extraction from Limonite Ore by Using Dissolved SO2-Air" Minerals 10, no. 8: 701. https://doi.org/10.3390/min10080701
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