Abdul J. Chaudhary

Heavy metals in the environment. Part II: a hydrochloric acid leaching process for the recovery of nickel value from a spent catalyst

Abstract A hydrochloric acid leaching process for the recovery of nickel, as nickel oxide, from low-grade spent catalyst analysing 17.7% Ni was studied. The effects of acid concentration, temperature, etc., on the extraction of nickel in chloride solution are first reported. Two different methods were examined for the separation of impurities from nickel chloride solution. In the first method, nickel was precipitated as solid nickel chloride by saturating the solution with hydrogen chloride gas. The effects of repeated leach/precipitation cycles were also investigated and it was found that the purity of the precipitated nickel chloride decreased as the number of cycles increased. Further purification was achieved by washing and anion exchange treatment. In the second method, nickel chloride solution was purified by removing impurities such as copper by cementation and iron and aluminium by oxidation/pH adjustment process. The preparation of nickel oxide from both methods was carried out by first precipitating nickel hydroxide, followed by calcination, to give an oxide with a purity suitable for the smelting process.

Separation of nickel from cobalt using electrodialysis in the presence of EDTA

Optimum conditions are determined for the removal of nickel from cobalt solutions by electrodialysis exploiting the greater stability of the EDTA complex with nickel. The Ni–(EDTA)2− complex and hydrated Co2+ ions are transferred from the feed solution to the electrodialysis anolyte and catholyte chambers, respectively. A three compartment cell is required to prevent the transfer of hydrated Ni2+ from the anolyte chamber as the EDTA present is destroyed at the anode. Complete removal of nickel from cobalt can be achieved but there is a compromise between cobalt purity and the percentage of cobalt transferred to the catholyte chamber for recovery.

Simultaneous recovery of copper and degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid in aqueous systems by a combination of electrolytic and photolytic processes

In mixed industrial effluent the presence of metal ions can retard the destruction of organic contaminants and the efficiency of recovery of the metal is reduced by the presence of the organic species. Results are presented for copper-2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) system in which both effects occur. An electrochemical cell alone can be used to recover copper in the pH range 1.5-4.5 but it is not capable of achieving complete disappearance of 2,4-D by anodic oxidation. A photolytic cell alone can achieve the destruction of 2,4-D at pH 3.5 but leaves copper in solution. A combined photolytic-electrochemical system using an activated carbon concentrator cathode achieves the rapid simultaneous destruction of 2,4-D and recovery of copper. Results are presented for the recovery of more than 90% copper from, and >99.9%, destruction of the organochlorine compound 2,4-D in, a solution containing 100 mg dm(-3) copper and 50 mg dm(-3) 2.4-D. The photolytic degradation of 2,4-D depends on the intensity of the UV-probe. Only 19% degradation is achieved after 8 h with the 150 W UV-probe but the corresponding value with the 400 W UV-probe is 100%. In the case of 150 W UV-probe the degradation of 2,4-D proceeds through the formation of 2,4-dichlorophenol and phenol. The concentration of these intermediates are very low in the case of 400 W UV-probe because the speed of the degradation of 2,4-D is very fast. The addition of TiO2 (1 g dm(-3)), as a semiconductor material, and H202 (1.5 g dm(-3)) as an oxidant, increases the photolytic degradation of 2,4-D.

Simultaneous recovery of heavy metals and degradation of organic species – copper and ethylenediaminetetra‐acetic acid (EDTA)

In mixed industrial effluent the presence of metal ions can retard the destruction of organic contaminants and the efficiency of recovery of metal is reduced by the presence of the organic species. Results are presented for a copper–ethylenediaminetetra-acetic acid (EDTA) system in which both effects occur. An electrochemical cell alone can be used to recover copper in pH range 1.5–4.5 but is not capable of achieving complete mineralisation of EDTA by anodic oxidation. A photolytic cell alone can achieve the destruction of EDTA at pH 3.5 but leaves copper in solution. A combined photolytic–electrochemical system using an activated carbon concentrator cathode achieves the rapid simultaneous destruction of EDTA and recovery of copper. © 2000 Society of Chemical Industry

Simultaneous recovery of metals and degradation of organic species: Copper and 2,4,5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4,5-T)

In mixed wastewater streams, the presence of metal ions can retard the destruction of organic contaminants and the efficiency of recovery of the metal is reduced by the presence of organic species. The reduction in the efficiency of these methods is due to the formation of complexes between the organic species and the metal ions in solution. Results are presented for copper-2,4,5-T system in which both effects occur. A photolytic cell alone can achieve the complete degradation of 2,4,5-T, in the presence of TiO(2) or H(2)O(2), at pH 3.5. The addition of Cu(II) ions, however, retard the degradation of 2,4,5-T and complete mineralisation of 2,4,5-T was not achieved and the system also leaves Cu(II) ions in solution. An electrolytic cell alone can be used to recover copper in pH range 1.5-4.5 but is not capable of achieving complete disappearance of 2,4,5-T by anodic oxidation. A combined photolytic-electrolytic system is capable of achieving simultaneous destruction of 2,4,5-T and recovery of copper from mixed wastewater streams at pH 3.5. The percentage destruction of 2,4,5-T and the recovery of copper can be increased further by using a combined photolytic and an activated carbon concentrator cell system. This system can achieve the simultaneous recovery of copper and the degradation of 2,4,5-T without the use of an additional oxidants or catalysts.

A combined photolytic-electrolytic system for the simultaneous recovery of copper and degradation of phenol or 4-chlorophenol in mixed solutions

The effects of the presence of copper on the photooxidation of phenol and 4-chlorophenol and of the presence of the phenols on the recovery of copper by electrodeposition are studied in three systems: a photolytic cell in the presence and absence of TiO2 as a catalyst or H2O2 as an oxidant; an electrolytic cell and a combined photolytic-electrolytic system. The optimum system for the simultaneous removal of copper and destruction of the phenols which overcomes the effects of copper-phenol reactions is a combined system with concentrator electrode technology incorporated into the electrolytic cell. This combined system achieves >99% removal of copper and destruction of phenol or 4-chlorophenol in an 8 h period.

Removal of tin from dilute solutions

The fluidised bed cell of inert glass beads is an electrolytic reactor which is designed to provide higher ion-transfer conditions during electrolysis, thus enabling metals to be removed efficiently from dilute solutions. The effectiveness of the method as a means of removing metals from effluent to meet discharge consent levels is studied for the in situ removal of tin from dilute solution (concentration range 0.25–1.00 gdm−3). The results show that the combination of high mass transport conditions and a moderately high electrode surface area per unit electrode volume provides a system for continuous removal of metal from dilute solutions. The effects of acid concentration, tin concentration, current density, fluidised bed agitation, electrode spacing, type of electrode and lead impurities on the removal of tin are reported and expressed in terms of the percentage removal of tin (αSn), the efficiency of tin deposition (ϕSn), and the energy consumption (WSn) for 1 kg of tin deposited. The results show that tin can, under optimised conditions, be removed from dilute solutions to a residual concentration of 0.001 gdm−3. © 2001 Society of Chemical Industry

Effect of composition on optical properties of co-evaporated Mn/SiOx, Cr/SiOx and Cu/SiOx cermet thin films

Optical absorption spectra of amorphous Mn/SiOx, Cr/SiOx, and Cu/SiOx cermet films, 300 nm thick, with compositions from 0 to 25 at% Mn, Cr and Cu, respectively, prepared by co-evaporation at 293 Kin vacuo have been investigated. The linearity of (αħω)1/2 versusħω graphs in the high absorption region for all the cermet films indicates that indirect photon transitions in k-space are involved in the absorption process. Taues rule is also confirmed. In all cases the optical energy gap decreases significantly with increasing metallic content of the films and the width of the tail of localized states increases.