Molten salt extraction process for the recovery of valued transition metals from land-based and deep-sea minerals
This patent describes a process for recovering at least three transition metals from an ore by direct dissolution of the ore in a molten salt comprising the steps of combining the ore with the molten salt containing mixed alkali or alkaline earth metal chlorides or mixtures thereof to dissolve the transition metals as chlorides in the molten salt, the salt being at a temperature of not more than 500/sup 0/C., removing at least one transition metal chloride from the molten salt by distillation at a temperature below about 500/sup 0/C, electrolytically recovering at least a second transition metal from the molten salt at a voltage with respect to Ag/AgCl that is not more negative than about -1.5 volts, and treating the remaining molten salt with a source of oxygen to precipitate an oxide of at least a third transition metal.
- Assignee:
- Dept. of Energy, Washington, DC
- Patent Number(s):
- US 4762694
- OSTI ID:
- 6226220
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
400201* -- Chemical & Physicochemical Properties
ALKALI METAL COMPOUNDS
ALKALINE EARTH METAL COMPOUNDS
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
CHLORIDES
CHLORINE COMPOUNDS
DEMETALLIZATION
DISSOLUTION
DISTILLATION
ELECTROLYSIS
ELEMENTS
HALIDES
HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
HIGH TEMPERATURE
LYSIS
METALS
MINERALS
MOLTEN SALTS
ORE PROCESSING
ORES
PRECIPITATION
PROCESSING
RECOVERY
SALTS
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SILVER
SILVER CHLORIDES
SILVER COMPOUNDS
SOLUTES
TRANSITION ELEMENT COMPOUNDS
TRANSITION ELEMENTS