Process and apparatus for the precipitation of substances from solution using solid precipitants

Claim 1

A PROCESS RECOVERING METAL VALUES FROM SOLUTIONS IN WHICH THEY ARE DISSOLVED, COMPRISING THE STEPS OF MAINTAINING WITHIN A REACTION ZONE A BODY OF SUCH A METAL-BEARING SOLUTION ABOUT A MASS OF A PRECIPITANT METAL IN REACTIVE CONTACT THEREWITH; INTRODUCING ADDITIONAL QUANTITIES OF THE METAL BEARING SOLUTION INTO SAID BODY WITHIN SAID REACTION ZONE IN REACTIVE WITH SAID PRECIPITANT METAL AND WITH SUFFICIENT FORCE TO DISLODGE PRECIPITAT METAL THEREFROM; FLOWING THE SOLUTION, THAT HAS BEEN DEPLETED OF DISSOLVED METAL CONTENT, ALONG WITH THE DISLODGE PRECIPITATE METAL UPWARDLY INTO A RELATIVE QUESCENT ZONE ABOVE SAID BODY OF SAID OF SOLUTION; MAINTAINING A RELATIVELY QUIESCENT BODY OF DEPLETED SOLUTION IN ADJOINING RELATTIONSHIP WITH THE FIRSTNAMED BODY OF SOLUTION; SETTING PRECIPITATE METAL FROM THE SOLUTION IN SAID QUIESCENT ZONE INTO SAID BODY OF DEPLETED SOLUTION; OVERFLOWING DEPLETED SOLUTION SAID QUIESCENT ZONE; AND DISCHARGING SETTLED PRECIPITATE AND SOME OF THE SOLUTION FROM SAID BODY OF DEPLETED SOLUTION.