A comparison among bio-derived acids as selective eco-friendly leaching agents for cobalt: the case study of hard-metal waste enhancement

被引：4

作者：

Amadou, Amadou Oumarou ^{[1
,2
]}

Cera, Martina ^{[1
]}

Trudu, Stefano ^{[1
]}

Piredda, Martina ^{[1
]}

Cara, Stefano ^{[3
]}

De Gaudenzi, Gian Pietro ^{[4
]}

Matharu, Avtar Singh ^{[5
]}

Marchio, Luciano ^{[6
]}

Tegoni, Matteo ^{[6
]}

Muntoni, Aldo ^{[1
,3
]}

De Gioannis, Giorgia ^{[1
,3
]}

Serpe, Angela ^{[1
,3
,7
]}

机构：

[1] Univ Cagliari, Dept Civil Environm Engn & Architecture DICAAR, Cagliari, Italy

[2] Univ Ngaoundere, Natl Sch Agroind Sci ENSAI, Dept Appl Chem, Ngaoundere, Cameroon

[3] Natl Res Council IGAG CNR, Environm Geol & Geoengn Inst, Cagliari, Italy

[4] Fabbr Italiana Leghe Met Sinterizzate FILMS SpA, Anzola Dossola, Italy

[5] Univ York, Green Chem Ctr Excellence, Dept Chem, York, England

[6] Univ Parma, Dept Chem Life Sci & Environm Sustainabil, Parma, Italy

[7] Unit Natl Interuniv Consortium Mat Sci & Technol I, Florence, Italy

来源：

FRONTIERS IN ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMISTRY | 2023年 / 4卷

关键词：

critical raw materials; organic acids; leaching; recycling; green processes; coordination chemistry; apparent reduction potential; LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES; ORGANIC-ACIDS; RECOVERY; REAGENTS; TUNGSTEN; COMPLEX; SCRAPS;

D O I：

10.3389/fenvc.2023.1216245

中图分类号：

X [环境科学、安全科学];

学科分类号：

08 ; 0830 ;

摘要：

Peculiar chemical, mechanical, and magnetic properties make cobalt a key metal for a variety of "hot" applications like the cathode production of Li-ion batteries. Cobalt is also the preferred metallic binder for tungsten carbide tool manufacturing. The recent increasing criticality of cobalt and tungsten is driving the interest of manufacturers and researchers toward high-rate recycling of hard-metal (HM) waste for limiting the demand for raw materials. A simple and environmentally friendly hydrometallurgical route for Co-selective dissolution from HM wastes was developed by using weak, bio-derived, and biodegradable organic acids (OAs). In this study, OAs, namely, acetic (HAc), citric (H3Cit), maleic (H2Mal), lactic (HLac), succinic (H2Suc), lactobionic (HLB), and itaconic (H2It) acids, were selected for their pKa1 values spanning from 1.8 to 4.7 and systematically tested as selective cobalt leaching agents from WC-Co-based wastes in water, isolating the formed complexes in the solid state. Thereby, all of them seemed to be efficient in selective Co leaching, achieving almost quantitative Co dissolution from HM by-products still at low concentration levels and room conditions in a short time, leaving the residual WC unreacted and ready to be re-employed for industrial purposes. Nevertheless, two main categories of organic acids were distinguished depending on their oxidizing/complexing behavior: class 1 OAs, where the metal oxidation is carried out by H+, and class 2 OAs, where oxidation is carried out by an external oxidant like O2. A combined experimental/theoretical investigation is described here to show the reasons behind this peculiar behavior and lay the foundation for a wider discussion on the leaching capabilities of OAs toward elemental metals. Due to the demonstrated effectiveness, low cost, eco-friendliness, and large availability through biotechnological fermentative processes, particular attention is devoted here to the use of HLac in hydrometallurgy as an example of class 2 OA. WC-Co materials recovered by HLac mild hydrometallurgy demonstrated a metallurgical quality suitable for re-employment in the HM manufacturing process.

引用

页数：15