Separation and removal of metal cyanides
- ChromatoChem, Inc., Missoulam, MT (United States)
- Gonzaga Univ., Spokane, WA (United States)
Metal ion capture media have been developed which are capable of rapidly and effectively reducing metal cyanide concentrations to sub- part per million levels. These media were developed to meet the growing need for compliance with increasingly stringent disposal regulations and the need for cost-effective treatment of metal cyanide waste streams produced by the gold mining and electroplating industries. The extraction media are produced by modifying porous silica with covalently attached, long, and hydrophilic spacer molecules. The termini of the spacer molecules are activated and coupled with a variety of ion exchange and chelating reagents. By placing the functionality away from the surface of the solid support, a combination of the benefits of solution phase equilibration kinetics and heterogeneous support media is obtained. This paper describes column extraction tests performed with the media to remove iron, zinc, copper, and gold cyanide complexes from solution to levels below one part per million. Additional tests were performed with these columns to selectively extract these metal cyanides and/or selectively desorb the cyanide complexes from the media. One column was effective in extracting gold cyanide from solution and recovering the gold by elution with carbonate buffer. The other metal cyanides showed distinctively different adsorption isotherms. By using a combination of two extraction media chemistries, it is possible to separate gold cyanide from a complex solution of mixed metal cyanide species.
- OSTI ID:
- 96693
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9504134-; TRN: 95:005315-0042
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: HAZMACON `95: hazardous materials management conference and exhibition, San Jose, CA (United States), 4-6 Apr 1995; Other Information: PBD: 1995; Related Information: Is Part Of Proceedings of HAZMACON `95: Hazardous materials management conference and exhibition; Bursztynsky, T.; Loss, M.L.; PB: 790 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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