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Metals
Special Issues
Leaching, Separation and Purification of Metals from Secondary Resources
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Leaching, Separation and Purification of Metals from Secondary Resources

A special issue of Metals (ISSN 2075-4701). This special issue belongs to the section "Extractive Metallurgy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2025) | Viewed by 1910

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Guihong Han

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Metallurgical Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, China
Interests: enrichment; separation and purification; critical metals; bubble extractive metallurgy
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Yanfang Huang

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Metallurgical Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, China
Interests: critical metals; separation; enrichment; purification; extract
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce a Special Issue of Metals (ISSN 2075-4701) on the “Leaching, Separation and Purification of Metals from Secondary Resources”. With the rapid development of human industrialization, many metal and metal-based secondary resources are generated during mineral processing, extractive metallurgy processing, and material fabrication and application processes. Secondary resources containing high-value metals show great recovery potential. However, the clean leaching, extraction, separation, and purification of these metals, especially for critical metals with low or ultra-low concentrations, are extremely difficult from secondary resources of this nature, necessitating diverse processes.

This Special Issue will contain articles reporting new and progressive research results as well as reviews on fundamental aspects in the study of the leaching, separation, and purification of metals from secondary resources and their applications. Manuscripts from both fundamental scientific researchers and authors belonging to industrial companies involved in the field will be welcomed.

Prof. Dr. Guihong Han
Dr. Yanfang Huang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Metals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • leaching
  • enrichment
  • separation and purification
  • critical metals
  • extractive metallurgy
  • processing

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

43 pages, 8258 KB  
Article
Optimizing the Leaching Parameters of Asbestos Tailings for Maximizing the Recovery of Critical Metals
by Zouhour Rajah, Daphne Freda Gavras, Herizo Andrianandraina, Fariborz Faraji, Mahamadou Traoré, Stéphanie Somot, Faïçal Larachi, Dominic Ryan and Ahmed Bouajila
Metals 2025, 15(11), 1215; https://doi.org/10.3390/met15111215 - 1 Nov 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1508
Abstract
Asbestos tailings represent a historical liability in many countries. Canada aims at transforming this industrial legacy into an opportunity to both mitigate the environmental footprint and recover critical (such as magnesium, nickel, chromium, and cobalt) and strategic metals, which represent significant economic development [...] Read more.
Asbestos tailings represent a historical liability in many countries. Canada aims at transforming this industrial legacy into an opportunity to both mitigate the environmental footprint and recover critical (such as magnesium, nickel, chromium, and cobalt) and strategic metals, which represent significant economic development potential. This study aimed to investigate the recovery of critical and strategic metals (CSMs) from asbestos tailings using hydrochloric (HCl) acid leaching, with acid concentration (2–12 mol/L), leaching temperature (20–90 °C), and solid–liquid ratio (10–40%) as key process parameters. The tailing samples studied is composed mostly of chrysotile and lizardite. It contains about 40% magnesium (as its oxide MgO) and nickel and chromium showing contents 52 and 60 times higher than their respective average crustal abundances (Clarke values). Iron content is 8.7% (expressed as its ferric oxide Fe2O3). To optimize key factors influencing the leaching process, a statistical experimental design was employed. The designed leaching experiments were subsequently performed, and results were used to define leaching conditions aiming at maximizing Mg and Ni recoveries while minimizing iron contamination using response surface methodology (RSM) based on the central composite design (CCD). A quadratic polynomial model was developed to describe the relationship between the process parameters and metal recoveries. Among the tested effects of acid concentration, temperature, and pulp density on magnesium recovery, the modeling indicated that both hydrochloric acid concentration and leaching temperature significantly enhanced metal recovery, whereas increasing pulp density had a negative effect at low temperature. The empirical mathematical model derived from the experimental data, accounting for the uncertainties on chemical data, indicated that high magnesium recovery was achieved at 90 °C, with 10–12 N hydrochloric acid and a solid-to-liquid ratio of 33.6–40%. These findings reveal the potential for the recovery of critical and strategic metals, both in terms of efficiency and economic viability. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Leaching, Separation and Purification of Metals from Secondary Resources)
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