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Minerals
Special Issues
Hydrometallurgy in the Recovery of Precious Metals from Secondary Resources
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Hydrometallurgy in the Recovery of Precious Metals from Secondary Resources

A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (29 February 2024) | Viewed by 4889

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Ionela Birloaga

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Industrial Engineering, Information and Economy, University of L’Aquila, Monteluco di Roio, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy
Interests: the development of innovative technologies for the recovery of elements from both primary and secondary resources; solid and liquid waste minimisation
Prof. Dr. Francesco Veglio

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Industrial and Information Engineering and Economy, University of L’Aquila, via G. Gronchi 18, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy
Interests: chemical engineering; waste management; waste treatment; hydrometallurgy; wastewater treatment; biosorption
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

It is well known that the current supply of precious metals cannot satisfy the market requirements. The recovery of these elements from secondary resources may be regarded as a suitable solution to overcome this issue. However, the well-known hydrometallurgical technologies used for the treatment of primary ores cannot be considered suitable for the treatment of waste materials. This is primarily due to their completely different structures and heterogenous compositions. In addition, the use of certain reagents has a considerable negative environmental impact; their use has thus been restricted or even banned. 
The aim of this Special Issue is to publish scientific and overview papers that cover the above-mentioned areas.

Dr. Ionela Birloaga
Prof. Dr. Francesco Veglio
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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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. Minerals 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 2400 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

  • hydrometallurgy
  • e-waste
  • spent auto catalyst
  • spent photovoltaic panels
  • e-components
  • precious metals
  • recovery
  • extraction
  • purification
  • precipitation
  • reduction
  • kinetics
  • modeling
  • recycling
  • separation
  • leaching
  • electrowinning
  • cementation
  • adsorption
  • stripping
  • regeneration
  • reuse
  • dismantling
  • analysis
  • sorting
  • purity
  • efficiency
  • statistics

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 7614 KiB  
Article
Process Optimization of an In-Situ Bioleaching Section with Associated Membrane Filtration in a Field Test Laboratory
by Katja Götze, Sabrina Hedrich, Andreas Siegfried Braeuer and Roland Haseneder
Minerals 2024, 14(3), 308; https://doi.org/10.3390/min14030308 - 15 Mar 2024
Viewed by 726
Abstract
The winning of critical raw materials from secondary resources, e.g., from abandoned mines, mining residues, electronic waste or low-grade ores, is a potential source with promising outcomes due to innovative and more efficient extraction methods. The research and education mine “Reiche Zeche” at [...] Read more.
The winning of critical raw materials from secondary resources, e.g., from abandoned mines, mining residues, electronic waste or low-grade ores, is a potential source with promising outcomes due to innovative and more efficient extraction methods. The research and education mine “Reiche Zeche” at the TU Bergakademie Freiberg, Germany offers a scientific lab in a real application environment for an in-situ bioleaching section from a low-grade sulfide ore vein with on-site associated membrane downstream processing. The evaluation and resumption of previous research activities showed both the feasibility and the potential for further up-scaling. But there was also potential evaluated for improving the effectiveness, especially in terms of individual process elements within the leaching and membrane cycle as well as regarding microbiology. Based on this, further optimization was carried out and effectiveness was evaluated and compared to the prior state. The results regarding the leaching outcome proved that process optimization leads to stable and continuous leaching process operations as well as to improved and more favorable conditions for the microorganisms due to the implementation of a bioreactor and changing the whole leaching operation from a direct into an indirect process. Furthermore, cleaning in place (CIP) resulted in the maintenance of selectivity despite discontinuous membrane process operation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrometallurgy in the Recovery of Precious Metals from Secondary Resources)
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19 pages, 6201 KiB  
Article
Bioleaching of Mine Tailings by Mesophilic: Acidithiobacillus spp., Leptospirillum ferrooxidans, and Thermophilic: Sulfobacillus thermosulfidooxidans Cultures with the Addition of Ag+ Additive
by Dana Rouchalová, Kamila Rouchalová and Vladimír Čablík
Minerals 2024, 14(3), 255; https://doi.org/10.3390/min14030255 - 28 Feb 2024
Viewed by 799
Abstract
This research focused on applying and comparing the performance of microorganisms with different temperature preferences, assessing the overall percentage recovery of elements (copper, zinc, arsenic, and iron) from mine tailings in the Staré Ransko region (Czech Republic). The study examined the solubilisation process [...] Read more.
This research focused on applying and comparing the performance of microorganisms with different temperature preferences, assessing the overall percentage recovery of elements (copper, zinc, arsenic, and iron) from mine tailings in the Staré Ransko region (Czech Republic). The study examined the solubilisation process using a mesophilic mixed bacterial culture, including Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans (AF), Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans (AT), Leptospirillum ferrooxidans (LF), and the thermophilic species Sulfobacillus thermosulfidooxidans (ST). Under biotic conditions, constant process parameters were maintained, including a particle size of 71–100 µm, a pH value of 1.8, agitation at 150 rpm, and a pulp density of 10% (w/v). The only exception was the temperature, which varied for optimal multiplication of cultures (30 °C/50 °C). Additionally, the research examined the impact of AgNO3 additive at a concentration of Ag+ ions of 5 mg·L−1. The research focused on the solubilisation of Cu, Zn, Fe, and As and the results demonstrated that the application of microorganisms ST, combined with the action of Ag+ ions, enhanced the kinetics of the extraction process, leading to the highest final recovery of all elements (Cu 91.93%, Zn 85.67%, As 69.16%, and Fe 71.72%) under the specified conditions. The study observed that the most significant increase in solubilisation can be attributed to the additive cation in the case of copper (AF, AT, LF/Ag+ by 40.33%; ST/Ag+ by 44.39%) and arsenic (AF, AT, LF/Ag+ by 23.79%; ST/Ag+ by 26.08%). Notably, the intensification of leaching using thermophilic bacteria at a constant suspension temperature of 50 °C was primarily determined for Zn (ST by 18.36%, ST/Ag+ by 14.24%). After 24 days of extraction, the emergence of secondary minerals, namely CaSO4·2H2O and KFe3(SO4)2(OH)6, was identified. The study highlighted a significant increase in the extraction mechanism kinetics due to the influence of microorganisms, contrasting with the low solubilities observed under abiotic conditions (Cu 9.00%, Zn 14.17%, As 4.28%, Fe 6.23%). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrometallurgy in the Recovery of Precious Metals from Secondary Resources)
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17 pages, 8654 KiB  
Article
Development of a More Sustainable Hybrid Process for Lithium and Cobalt Recovery from Lithium-Ion Batteries
by José Cristiano Mengue Model and Hugo Marcelo Veit
Minerals 2023, 13(6), 798; https://doi.org/10.3390/min13060798 - 11 Jun 2023
Viewed by 1126
Abstract
Lithium-ion batteries are widely used as a power source for portable devices and electrical vehicles (EVs). After their useful life, they can provide a secondary source from which to obtain some materials which make them up, such as lithium and cobalt. However, the [...] Read more.
Lithium-ion batteries are widely used as a power source for portable devices and electrical vehicles (EVs). After their useful life, they can provide a secondary source from which to obtain some materials which make them up, such as lithium and cobalt. However, the metallurgical route which will be used to recover them must be considered. Therefore, is crucial that many efforts to develop more environmentally favorable recovery processes be pursued. Due to this, the present work aimed to use 1.5 M DL-malic acid and compare it to 2 M sulfuric acid, employing heat pretreatment of 1 h and 3 h to remove the powder cathode binder polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF); for all conditions, experiments were carried out with and without adding the oxidizing agent hydrogen peroxide. The PVDF temperature degradation occurred at 630 °C. The best yields occurred in the presence of H2O2 10% v/v and heat pretreatment. With sulfuric acid (1 h) it was possible to recover 33.49% Co and 4.63% Li, and (3 h) 36.36% Co and 4.64% Li. With DL-malic acid it was possible to recover (1 h) 29.78% Co and 3.44% Li, and (3 h) 32.73% Co and 3.99% Li. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrometallurgy in the Recovery of Precious Metals from Secondary Resources)
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12 pages, 3012 KiB  
Article
Recovery of Platinum and Palladium from Spent Automotive Catalysts: Study of a New Leaching System Using a Complete Factorial Design
by Pietro Romano, Ionela Birloaga and Francesco Vegliò
Minerals 2023, 13(4), 479; https://doi.org/10.3390/min13040479 - 28 Mar 2023
Viewed by 1421
Abstract
The recovery of materials and energy from end-of-life products is increasingly a fundamental factor in the sustainable development of various countries. Recovering metals from different types of waste is not only a practice in support of the environment, but is also a profitable [...] Read more.
The recovery of materials and energy from end-of-life products is increasingly a fundamental factor in the sustainable development of various countries. Recovering metals from different types of waste is not only a practice in support of the environment, but is also a profitable economic activity. For this reason, exhausted automotive catalysts can become renewable sources of critical raw materials such as Pt, Pd, and Rh. However, recovering Pt and Pd from spent catalysts through an efficient, economical, and green method remains a challenge. This article presents a new leaching process for the hydrometallurgical recovery of Pt and Pd from exhausted automotive catalysts. The leaching solution consists of an aqueous mixture of hydrochloric acid, two organic acids (citric acid and acetic acid) and hydrogen peroxide. A complete factorial plan on two levels (2k) was performed in order to evaluate the main effects of the analyzed factors and their interactions. The factors that were presumed to be the most influential on the leaching of Pt and Pd were the concentrations of the different reagents and the reaction time. The optimal circumstances for achieving the largest recovery (over 80% Pt and 100% Pd) were achieved using the following conditions: a concentration of HCl of 5 M, a concentration of H2O2 of 10% wt./vol., a concentration of C2H4O2 of 10%vol./vol., and a reaction time of 3 h. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Hydrometallurgy in the Recovery of Precious Metals from Secondary Resources)
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