Application of Ionic Liquids in Hydrometallurgy

A special issue of Minerals (ISSN 2075-163X). This special issue belongs to the section "Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (12 November 2021) | Viewed by 11466

Special Issue Editors


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Separation Processes Intensification (SPI), Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Santiago de Chile, Av. Lib. Bdo. O’Higgins 3363, Estación Central, Santiago 9170020, Chile
Interests: liquid–liquid extractions of metal ions; separation technologies; ionic liquids; deep eutectics solvents
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Chemical and Bioprocess Engineering Department, University of Santiago de Chile, Santiago 71783-5, Chile
Interests: membrane separations; ionic liquids; deep eutectic solvents
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Ionic liquids (ILs) are novel and outstanding solvents that have been proposed for many applications due to their excellent properties, such as negligible vapor pressure, non-flammability, high solvating power, a wide electrochemical window, and tunable properties. Thus, we can find ILs in applications like extractive distillation, the separation and purification of pharmaceuticals, biomass dissolution, reaction media, and catalysis. However, hydrometallurgy could end up being one of the most explored processes because ILs could provide high performance, sustainability, and safety to a mining industry that has various and serious environmental impacts. This may become of even greater importance due to the fact that there is an increasing interest in using hydrometallurgy for the selective recovery of valuable metal ions from electronic wastes or refractory minerals, avoiding, in the latter case, mining tails. Therefore, there is a window of opportunity for ILs in hydrometallurgy. Examples include the use ILs in preferential leaching; the selective solvent extraction of metal ions from pregnant leach liquors; and studies on how the viscosity of these solvents affects the performance of electrowinning despite the large electrochemical window. Thus, these solvents could be used in the entire hydrometallurgical metal recovery process in order to promote a more sustainable mining industry.

Prof. Dr. Esteban Quijada-Maldonado
Prof. Dr. Julio Romero
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Minerals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • urban mining
  • leaching of refractory minerals
  • preferential leaching
  • leaching kinetics
  • selective solvent extraction
  • ionic liquids as diluents
  • ionic liquids as extractants
  • synergistic extraction
  • extraction stoichiometry
  • ionic liquids as electrolytes
  • effect of viscosity on electrodeposition.

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (3 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

12 pages, 2130 KiB  
Article
Ionic Liquids for the Selective Solvent Extraction of Lithium from Aqueous Solutions: A Theoretical Selection Using COSMO-RS
by Felipe Olea, Guillermo Durán, Georgina Díaz, Eduardo Villarroel, Claudio Araya-López, Rene Cabezas, Gastón Merlet, Julio Romero and Esteban Quijada-Maldonado
Minerals 2022, 12(2), 190; https://doi.org/10.3390/min12020190 - 31 Jan 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4438
Abstract
In this study, the theoretical design of ionic liquids (ILs) for predicting selective extraction of lithium from brines has been conducted using COSMO-RS. A theoretical model for the solvent extraction (SX) of the metal species present in brines was established considering extraction stoichiometry, [...] Read more.
In this study, the theoretical design of ionic liquids (ILs) for predicting selective extraction of lithium from brines has been conducted using COSMO-RS. A theoretical model for the solvent extraction (SX) of the metal species present in brines was established considering extraction stoichiometry, the distribution of the extractants between aqueous and IL phases, and IL dissociation in the aqueous phase. Theoretical results were validated using experimental extraction percentages from previous works. Results indicate that, in general, the theoretical results for lithium extraction follow experimental trends, except from magnesium extraction. Finally, based on the model, an IL was proposed that was based on the phosphonium cation as the extractant, along with the phase modifier tributylphosphate (TBP) in an organic diluent in order to improve selectivity for lithium extraction over sodium. These results provide an insight for the application of ILs in lithium processing, avoiding the long purification times reported in the conventional process. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Ionic Liquids in Hydrometallurgy)
Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 1669 KiB  
Article
Chemical Dissolution of Chalcopyrite Concentrate in Choline Chloride Ethylene Glycol Deep Eutectic Solvent
by Carlos Carlesi, Robert C. Harris, Andrew P. Abbott and Gawen R. T. Jenkin
Minerals 2022, 12(1), 65; https://doi.org/10.3390/min12010065 - 5 Jan 2022
Cited by 19 | Viewed by 3591
Abstract
Currently, the high demand for copper is in direct contrast with the decrease in the mineral grade and, more significantly, the concerns regarding the environmental impact that arise as a result of processing such low-grade materials. Consequently, new mineral processing concepts are needed. [...] Read more.
Currently, the high demand for copper is in direct contrast with the decrease in the mineral grade and, more significantly, the concerns regarding the environmental impact that arise as a result of processing such low-grade materials. Consequently, new mineral processing concepts are needed. This work explores the chemical dissolution of chalcopyrite concentrate at ambient pressure and moderate temperatures in a deep eutectic solvent. Copper and iron are dissolved without changing their oxidation state, without solvent pH change, and stabilized as a chloride complex with no evidence of passivation. Chemical equilibria of the metallic chloride complexes limit the dissolution, and the step that is rate-controlling of the kinetics is the interdiffusion of species in the solvent. The chemical mechanism may involve initial chloride adsorption at positive sites of the solid surface, pointing out the importance of surfaces states on chalcopyrite particles. A model based on a shrinking particle coupled with pseudo-second-order increase in the liquid concentration of copper describes the dissolution kinetics and demonstrates the importance of the liquid to solid ratio. Iron and copper can be recovered separately from the solvent, which highlights that this concept is an interesting alternative to both redox-hydrometallurgy and pyrometallurgy to obtain copper by the processing of chalcopyrite concentrate. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Ionic Liquids in Hydrometallurgy)
Show Figures

Figure 1

9 pages, 2084 KiB  
Article
Liquid-Liquid Extraction of Ferric Ions into the Ionic Liquids
by Katerina Cubova, Miroslava Semelova, Mojmir Nemec and Vit Benes
Minerals 2022, 12(1), 11; https://doi.org/10.3390/min12010011 - 22 Dec 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2515
Abstract
Imidazolium ionic liquids containing acetylacetone, thenoyltrifluoroacetone, or 8-hydroxyquinoline, respectively, were used as the extracting agents for the separation of traces of iron (III) from its aqueous solutions with or without citric and oxalic acids. The results show that 8-hydroxyquinoline in imidazolium ionic liquids [...] Read more.
Imidazolium ionic liquids containing acetylacetone, thenoyltrifluoroacetone, or 8-hydroxyquinoline, respectively, were used as the extracting agents for the separation of traces of iron (III) from its aqueous solutions with or without citric and oxalic acids. The results show that 8-hydroxyquinoline in imidazolium ionic liquids extract iron quantitatively from all the tested solutions including complexing ones, regardless of indications of unexpected iron behavior/speciation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Application of Ionic Liquids in Hydrometallurgy)
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop