Electroleaching of Fe-Ni-Cu-Co alloy

摘要

Deep-sea manganese nodules contain various valuable metals, such as Ni, Co, Cu. Electric arc furnace smelting of the nodules produces slag and alloy. The valuable metals are concentrated in the alloy. The present study examined the electroleaching of the alloy, namely Fe-Ni-Cu-Co alloy, in sulfuric acid solution. The current efficiency was over 90%. Lowering the concentration of acid increased the energy consumption by raising the cell voltage. Leaching ratio of the metals except Cu was proportional to the composition of alloy. Addition of Chloride ion was very effective to increase Cu leaching.