Recovery of cobalt-rare earth alloy particles by hydration-disintegration in a magnetic field

Claim 1

A PROCESS FOR HYDRATING AND DISINTEGRATING A REACTION PRODUCT CAKE AND RECOVERING THE MAGNETIC PORTION THEREOF, SAID REACTION PRODUCT CAKE BEING COMPRISED OF MAGNETIC ALLOY PARTICLES SUBSTANTIALLY OR COMPLETELY SURROUNDED BY CALCIUM AND OR A CALCIUM COMPOUND SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF CALCIUM OXIDE, CALCIUM HYDRATE AND CALCIUM NITRIDE, SAID MAGNETIC ALLOY PARTICLES CONSISTING ESSENTIALLY OF RARE EARTH METAL AND A METAL SELECTED FROM THE GROUP CONSISTING OF COLBAT, IRON, MANGANESE AND ALLOYS THEREOF, WHICH COMPRISES PROVIDING A SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL REACTOR HAVING A GAS INLET AT ITS LOWER END PORTION AND AN OUTLET AT ITS UPPER END PORTION, PLACING SAID REACTION PRODUCT CAKE IN SAID REACTOR SUBSTANTIALLY BETWEEN SAID GAS OUTLET AND SAID INLET, PASSING A WATER VAPORCARRYING GAS THROUGH SAID GAS INLET TO REACT WITH SAID CALCIUM AND OR SAID CALCIUM COMPOUND CAUSING A SIGNIFICANT VOLUME INCREASE WHICH DISINTEGRATES SAID REACTION PRODUCT CAKE, SAID WATER VAPOR-CARRYING GAS INITIALLY HAVING A TEMPERATURE RANGING FROM ABOUT 0*C TO ABOUT 70*C AND A RELATIVE HUMINITY RANGING FROM ABOUT 5% TO 100%, SAID REACTION PRODUCT CAKE BEING SUBSTANTIALLY INERT TO THE GAS COMPONENT OF SAID WATER VAPOR-CARRYING GAS. SAID WATER VAPOR-CARRYING GAS BEING PASSED THROUGH SAID REACTOR AT A RATE WHICH FLUIDIZES SAID DISINTEGRATED CAKE WITHIN SAID REACTOR AND UNTIL SUBSTANTIAL CONVERSION TO CALCIUM HYDROXIDE IS COMPLETED PRODUCING A SUBSTANTIALLY HYDRATED POWER, PROVIDING MEANS FOR GENERATING A MAGNETIC ZONE BETWEEN SAID GAS INLET AND OUTLET A SIGNIFICANT DISTANCE INTO CROSS-SECTION OF THE REACTOR ENCIRCLING THE INSIDE WALL THEREOF TO A SIGNIFICANT EXTENT AND BEING COMPRISED OF AT LEAST TWO MAGNETIC POLES OF OPPOSITE POLARITY RUNNING THE FULL LENGTH OF SAID ZONE AND SUBSTANTIALLY PARALLEL TO THE ASSOCIATED INSIDE WLL OF THE REACTOR, SAID MAGNETIC POLES BEING ROTATABLE OR REVERSIBLE, PASSING AN INERT GAS THROUGH SAID INLET UPWARDLY TO FLUIDIZE SAID HYDRATED POWER DISASSOCIATING AND CARRYING THE CALCIUM HYDROXIDE THROUGH SAID INLET, SAID MAGNETIC ALLOY PARTICLES OF FINER IZE CARRIED BY SAID FLUIDIZING GAS INTO SAID MAGNETIC ZONE BEING CAUGHT BY THE POLES WHICH ARE ROTATED OR REVERSED AT A RATE SUFFICIENT TO SIGNIFICANTLY REVERSE THE POSIIONS OF THE PARTICLES RESULTING IN RELEASE OF ADHERENT CALCIUM HYDROXIDE LEAVING THE FINER-SIZED PARTICLES WITHIN SAID MAGNETIC ZONE.