Treatment of third phases in hydrometallurgy
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Regarding a rather difficult issue commonly encountered in the hydrometallurgy industry, a third phase often appears during extraction and back-extraction; this phase exists between the organic phase and the aqueous phase, affecting the efficiency of electrodeposition. I would like to ask the experts: what method is relatively easy to use for removing this third phase, one that is cost-effective and effective?
When using activated clay for treatment, a small test can be conducted first to determine the appropriate dosage, after which pressing and filtration are carried out using a press.
This post was last edited by cy1125915 on 2015-8-10 15:06. There is a chelating agent that can solve this problem and speed up the phase separation time
This post was last edited by cy1125915 on 2015-8-10 15:07. Thank you! What we need is a treatment method that does not involve the addition of chemicals, as adding chemicals affects the composition of the material solution and requires changes to the relevant processes; therefore, methods that involve the use of chemicals cannot be employed.
This post was last edited by cy1125915 on 2015-8-11 at 10:57. This isn’t either a case of adding chemicals; feel free to reply and join the discussion.
1. What is the main component of your three-phase material, and has it been analyzed? 2. A simple filtration can be done first; the process using active clay mentioned by a friend earlier is also good. 3. Is the organic phase continuous or the aqueous phase continuous?
Depending on the category of hydrometallurgy, the third-phase materials in copper hydrometallurgy are referred to as \"red slag\"; these include slag brought in from previous processes, as well as dust and other particles with very small sizes； There are many third phases in wet nickel smelting; by implementing a filtration step beforehand, it is possible to remove most of them, but a small portion with extremely small particle sizes remains difficult to eliminate. Due to the special nature of the process, the hydrometallurgy industry tends to avoid adding substances to the system, as it has a significant impact on subsequent processing. The third phase mainly exists in the middle of the organic phase and the aqueous phase, and is mostly present in the form of oil solids.
OP, as far as I know, the third item refers to mechanical emulsification; oil solids do not count as the third item, and generally, oil solids do not have the very small particle sizes you mentioned – rather, their particle sizes are quite large. The difficulty in removing these oil solids does not lie in their particle size; rather, it is the fact that they clog the filtering material, causing blockages to form quickly and leading to compaction, which makes backwashing difficult.
Could you share with us what you know about the third phase? Give an introduction to it: which industry it belongs to, what its processes are, what its characteristics are, as well as the current measures being taken and the results of those measures. Thank you first.
I work in the hydrometallurgy industry, dealing with oil-water separators. So we pay close attention to this; this third item is closely related to the oil removal efficiency of our equipment. The ways oil exists in water include oil solids, floating oil, dispersed oil, emulsified oil, and dissolved oil. What poses a challenge for us are emulsified oils and dissolved oils; emulsified oils are referred to as the third phase here. Also, depending on the product, such as nickel, the third phase refers to crystalline substances like silica; in the case of zinc, it is usually calcium sulfate dihydrate. There is actually no specific definition for this, and what I say is based on experience.
Chelating agents are used as physical methods to remove the third phase and accelerate the phase separation process; an acidic environment is required； It can also be extracted, filtered using a filter press, then treated with clay and filtered again; the oil phase recovery rate is around 80%