A model of the economic feasibility of utilizing Blake Plateau manganese nodules for desulfurization and metals recovery.

摘要

he Clean Air Amendments of 1990 require that coal-burning utilities reduce sulfur dioxide emissions to roughly 50% of present levels by the year 2000. Such utilities have been forced to develop immediate response strategies that are timely, cost-effective, and scientifically feasible. Among those strategies is the installation and use of flue gas desulfurization systems which utilize high-grade limestone as sorbent material and effectively trap as much as 90% of the sulfur dioxide in the flue prior to emission into the atmosphere.;In 1967, the Kennecott Copper Corporation found that manganese nodules are successful in absorbing up to 98% of sulfur dioxide in typical flue gases, with all the major nodule metal components becoming completely sulfated. The study also found that leaching the fully sulfated nodules with boiling water yielded almost complete extraction of manganese, copper, nickel, and cobalt.;The present research was initiated under the premise that manganese nodules mined from the Blake Plateau could be a viable competitor for limestone sorbents currently in use in flue gas desulfurization systems. It was the goal of this research, therefore, to examine the feasibility of mining Blake Plateau manganese nodules primarily for their application as flue gas sorbents, and secondarily for their metals values. A conceptual model was designed which took advantage of existing mining technology, leased transportation vehicles, and existing metallurgical technology. The model showed that a potential savings in excess of