Hydrometallurgy Equipment

Hydrometallurgy Equipment is Still Irreplaceable

Today, close to 70% of copper in the world is turned out through concentration. And with the current scenario of high prices, concentration remains the preferred processing alternative for new projects at the expense of hydrometallurgy. Hydrometallurgy Equipment is still irreplaceable.

Dewatering and washing are carried out in thickeners (of the paddle type with central and peripheral drive mechanisms, as well as multistage types) and in filters (vacuum filters and filter presses, operating continuously or in periodic cycles). Precipitation from the solutions is accomplished in apparatus with designs that depend on the precipitating agent used. Reactors and filters are used for chemical (soluble) precipitating agents. Powder-form precipitating agents (zinc, aluminum dust) are introduced into the mixing tanks with the solution; the precipitation may then continue within a reciprocating pump, along a main pipeline and through a layer of the precipitating agent in a filter.

Sometimes combined schemes of leaching are possible: for granular sized material by percolation; and for separated fine material (slime) by slurrying. In specific instances other types of Hydrometallurgy Equipment may be set up, for example, in autoclaves operating on a continuous basis or in periodic cycles. Leaching of acidic solutions is carried out in rubber-lined steel, ceramic, or other acid-resistant apparatus; for alkaline solutions steel and sometimes wooden apparatus is suitable. The methods of liquid extraction either supplement leaching or are used for the direct extraction of metal compounds from ores. The extraction is accomplished according to the coun-tercurrent principle in extraction columns (the extract and the waste solution are continuously being drawn off in different directions).

Concentration is a technology 100% proven for the processing of sulfide ore. Flotation works perfectly with chalcopyrite, but there is still no mature hydrometallurgical process available for industrial use in processing that kind of ore.

You can click Concentration Equipment for more information.