Kinetics and Optimization of Metal Leaching from Heat-Resistant Nickel Alloy Solid Wastes

Recycling waste from the production and consumption of heat-resistant alloys to return them to production is an urgent task due to the high cost of the components contained in these alloys. The kinetics and conditions of the acid leaching process of the grinding waste of a heat-resistant nickel alloy are studied depending on the composition of the acid solution (H₂SO₄, HCl, HNO₃, and their mixtures) at room temperature to boiling point temperature and various acid concentrations (1.5 to 3.0 mol/L), ratios of waste to solution (1:10 to 3:10), fraction sizes (0.04-1 mm), and contact duration (1 to 120 h). The linearization of experimental data by the Gray-Weddington, Gistling-Brownstein, and Kazeev-Erofeev equations showed that the rate of the leaching process was influenced by both the chemical reactions between sulfuric acid and metals included in the grinding waste and the diffusion of reagents through the film of reaction products and undissolved impurities. Optimal conditions for acid dissolution of the grinding waste have been established to obtain the maximum degree of extraction of the main component of the alloy, nickel. The processing of powder particles with a size of less than 0.1 mm should be carried out in a solution of sulfuric acid with a concentration of 3.0 mol/L at a temperature of 100 °C for 6 h with a ratio of solid to liquid phases of 1:10. The reported results are very important for industry personnel to recover metals and for environmentalists to treat the alloy waste.