Most of the processes in metallurgical industry are accompanied with ore chemical treatment for obtaining of necessary metal water solution for further metal production by electrolysis, thermal reduction, etc. This is true for aluminum, magnesium, molybdenum and other metal production. In these processes a large quantity of alkali and acid is used, which recycling is a big problem.
The technology of metal extraction from ores developed by EcoAtom is based on electrodialysis and electrolysis methods and allows to obtain necessary metal water solutions, separate the mixture of metals salts, hydroxides, refine these, and simultaneously recycle spent chemicals and technological water. EcoAtom’s proprietary technologies have been applied to process several tones of ore concentrates, to extract and refine gold, silver, molybdenum, rhenium, cesium, magnesium and cerium at high purity, as demonstrations of technological capabilities. These technologies allow the extraction, separation and refining of practically any metal. Metals or their oxides can be efficiently extracted and refined producing 99.99% pure products in the forms of fine powder, ingots or as nanomaterials that consist of particles sized in few nanometers. In contrast to traditional hydrometallurgical technologies, EcoAtom’s processes are characterized by energy efficiency, economy and environmental safety, since all chemical reagents are also recovered and recycled.
This technology may be used for treatment of aluminum containing ores, such as bauxite, nephelinite, aluminous slag, etc. for obtaining pure aluminum hydroxide Al(OH)3 which is the key component for further aluminum metal production.