US 12,378,633 B2
Hydrometallurgical solvent extraction methods
Luis Moya, Tolleson, AZ (US); Matthew Dean Soderstrom, Mesa, AZ (US); Adam James Fischmann, Victoria (AU); Michael Moser, Fairfield, CT (US); and Lei Zhang, Stamford, CT (US)
Assigned to CYTEC INDUSTRIES, INC., Princeton, NJ (US)
Filed by Cytec Industries Inc., Princeton, NJ (US)
Filed on Jul. 1, 2019, as Appl. No. 16/458,905.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/694,213, filed on Jul. 5, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2020/0048733 A1, Feb. 13, 2020
Int. Cl. C22B 7/00 (2006.01); C22B 3/26 (2006.01)
CPC C22B 7/006 (2013.01) [C22B 3/26 (2021.05)] 31 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A hydrometallurgical solvent extraction method for preventing or mitigating crud within a solvent extraction circuit, the method comprising
mixing, within a mixing vessel or extraction column of a solvent extraction circuit, an aqueous metal ion solution with an organic solution of metal extraction reagent capable of binding with metal ions and transferring the metal ions from the aqueous solution to the organic solution to form a mixture, and
allowing the aqueous metal ion solution and organic solution to phase separate from the mixture;
wherein prior to mixing the aqueous metal ion solution and the organic solution, and prior to or during crud formation, a water-soluble or water-dispersible polymer comprising pendant sulfonic acid or sulfonate salt groups selected from the group consisting of sulfonated polystyrene; an addition polymer comprising at least one of styrene-4-sulfonic acid and 2-acrylamido-2-methylpropane sulfonic acid; naphthalene sulfonic acid-formaldehyde condensate; lignosulfonate; salts thereof; and mixtures thereof, is added to the aqueous metal ion solution, the organic solution, or to both the aqueous metal ion solution and the organic solution to prevent or mitigate crud formation within the mixing vessel, the extraction column and/or a settler after the mixing vessel, of the solvent extraction circuit.