US4029498A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Process for treating manganese nodules
Assignee: Sumitomo Metal Mining Co Ltd
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Filing: 1975-05-08
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Granted: 1977-06-14
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Expires: 1995-05-08
Abstract
Abstract In a process for treating manganese nodules wherein the nodules are reduced so as to convert most of the nickel, copper and cobalt impurities to their metallic state while inhibiting the conversion of the iron and manganese impurities to their metallic state, the resulting reduced ore is wet ground, if necessary, slurried and treated with an aqueous ammoniacal solution containing free oxygen to extract the metallic nickel, copper and cobalt as their ammine complexes. The iron and manganese are removed from the aqueous ammoniacal solution containing iron and manganese as impurities by leaching the slurry of reduced ore by adding sodium chloride or ammonium chloride thereto and blowing air in the leach solution which also contains sulfur dioxide.
Inventors
- 👤 Yasuhiro Okajima
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-06 12:53
CPC Classifications
C; C22; C22B; C22B47/00; C22B3/00; C22B3/04; C22B47/0018; C22B47/0027; C22B47/0045; C22B47/0054; C22B47/0072; Y; Y02; Y02P; Y02P10/00; Y02P10/20; Y10; Y10S; Y10S423/00; Y10S423/04
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 17
Claim 1
Independent Claim
140 words
In a process for recovering the metal impurities contained in manganese nodules which contain nickel, copper, cobalt, iron and manganese compounds which includes the steps of: 1. reducing the manganese nodules so as to convert the nickel, copper and cobalt to their metallic states while inhibiting the conversion of iron and manganese into their metallic state, thereby producing a reduced ore; 2. slurrying said reduced ore in a liquid selected from the group consisting of water or an aqueous ammoniacal solution; 3. adding said slurry to an aqueous ammoniacal solution and then blowing air into said solution; 4. adding a water-soluble chloride to said solution of (3) to form a leach solution, said compound being used in an amount of less than 3% by weight of the reduced ore; the improvement wherein after step (4) the following steps are conducted:
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
140 words
In a process for recovering the metal impurities contained in manganese nodules which contain nickel, copper, cobalt, iron and manganese compounds which includes the steps of: 1. reducing the manganese nodules so as to convert the nickel, copper and cobalt to their metallic states while inhibiting the conversion of iron and manganese into their metallic state, thereby producing a reduced ore; 2. slurrying said reduced ore in a liquid selected from the group consisting of water or an aqueous ammoniacal solution; 3. adding said slurry to an aqueous ammoniacal solution and then blowing air into said solution; 4. adding a water-soluble chloride to said solution of (3) to form a leach solution, said compound being used in an amount of less than 3% by weight of the reduced ore; the improvement wherein after step (4) the following steps are conducted:
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
54 words
adding an SO 2 -containing compound to said leach solution in order to help remove the manganese and iron impurities; 6. blowing air into said leach solution: and 7. removing the iron and manganese precipitates from said leach solution of step (6) in order to recover a solid useful for the preparation of ferromanganese.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
54 words
adding an SO 2 -containing compound to said leach solution in order to help remove the manganese and iron impurities; 6. blowing air into said leach solution: and 7. removing the iron and manganese precipitates from said leach solution of step (6) in order to recover a solid useful for the preparation of ferromanganese.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
16 words
A process as claimed in claim 1 wherein said water-soluble chloride of step (4) is NaCl.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
18 words
A process as claimed in claim 1 wherein said water-soluble chloride of step (4) is NH 4 Cl.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
40 words
A process as claimed in claim 1 wherein said SO 2 -containing compound of step (5) is added in an amount of less than 2.5 grams per liter of said aqueous ammoniacal solution calculated as Na 2 SO 3 .
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
25 words
A process as claimed in claim 4 wherein the SO 2 -containing compound of step (5) is added as a solid to the leach solution.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
25 words
A process as claimed in claim 4 wherein the SO 2 -containing compound of step (5) is added as a solution to the leach solution.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
34 words
A process as claimed in claim 4 wherein the SO 2 -containing compound of step (5) is SO 2 gas and is blown together with the air of step (6) into the leach solution.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
21 words
A process as claimed in claim 1 wherein step (1) is conducted at a temperature ranging from 500° to 850° C.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
32 words
A process as claimed in claim 8 wherein said step (1) is conducted in the presence of a heating gas which contains oxygen in an amount of less than 1% by volume.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
61 words
A process as claimed in claim 1, wherein said reducing in step (1) comprises mixing the manganese nodules with a carbonaceous reducing agent having a ratio of fixed carbon to volatile matter of less than 4, contacting said mixture with a heating gas which contains less than 1% oxygen by volume, and heating said mixture to between 500° and 850° C.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
48 words
A process as claimed in claim 10 wherein between said mixing of said manganese nodules with said carbonaceous reducing agent and said contacting therewith with a heating gas, said mixture is pulverized to a particle size of less than 20 mesh and then shaped into pellets or briquets.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
15 words
A process as claimed in claim 11, wherein said carbonaceous reducing agent comprises bituminous coal.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
37 words
A process as claimed in claim 1, wherein said iron and manganese in step (7) are in the form of hydroxides and are removed from the leach solution by passing said leach solution through a filter press.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
14 words
A process according to claim 1, wherein step (6) is conducted at 30° C.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1980-06-13 | 1980-12-13 | 1981-06-14 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1984-06-13 | 1984-12-13 | 1985-06-14 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1988-06-13 | 1988-12-13 | 1989-06-14 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |