METAL VALUE RECOVERY FROM ALLOY CHEMICAL MILLING WASTE

A PROPOSAL IS PRESENTED OUTLINING A RESEARCH STUDY DIRECTED TOWARD TREATMENT OF CHEMICAL MILLING WASTE FOR RECOVERY OF COBALT, CHROMIUM, AND NICKEL. THE APPLICATION OF A NEW TECH NOLOGY IS PROPOSED THAT IS SELECTIVE AND COST EFFECTIVE FOR RECOVERY OF THESE THREE ELEMENTS. THE PROCESS IS ON OF SOL SOLUTION PURIFICATION BY SELECTIVE PHOSPHATE PRECIPITATION. THE PRECIPITATION IS SELECTIVE TOWARD TRIVALENT CATIONS OVERDIVALENT CATIONS; AND IMPORTANTLY, THE SOLID PRODUCT IS READILY FILTERABLE. THIS PROPOSED STUDY IS TO BE A CONTINUATION OF PRESENT STUDIES THAT HAVE DEMONSTRATED SELECTIVE RECOVERY OF IRON AND CHROMIUM FROM A NUMBER OF DIVALENT CATIONS; CU, ZN, NI, AND CD. THE EMPHASIS OF THE STUDY WILL BE ON THE SELECTIVE SEPARTION OF COBALT AND NICKEL. PRELIMINARY TESTWORK HAS DEMONSTRATED THAT COBALT IC PHOSPHATE PRECIPITATION PRODUCES A CO/NI RATIO OF OVER 1010; WHERAS COMMERCIAL PRECIPITATION PROCESSES PRESENTLY PRODUCE CO/NI RATIOS OF 1.5-3. A FEATURE OF UPMOST IMPORT ANCE IS THAT THE PRECIPITATED PHOSPHATE PRODUCTS ARE READILY FILTERABLE. PRELIMINARY EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS AND PHOTOMICROGRAPHS OF PRECIPITATED PHOSPHATE PRODUCTS ARE PRESENTED IN THE PHASE II PROPOSAL. AT PRESENT, CHEMICAL MILLING SLUDGE WASTE MATERIALS ARE DISPOSED OF IN HAZARDOUS WASTE LANDFILLS. IF THIS NEW PRECIPITATION TECH NOLOGY CAN BE SHOWN TO BE SUCCESSFUL, THEN DISPOSAL OF A TOXIC WASTE AND RECOVERY OF CRITICAL AND STRATEGIC METALS MAY POTENTIALLY BE ACCOMPLISHED.