Methods of Extraction of Nonferrous Metals

Non-ferrous metals are an important material component in the development of modern industry. The industries related to non-ferrous metals include mineral processing, mining, exploration, smelting and some processing departments. In the processes of beneficiation and mining, there are different ways for extraction of non ferrous metals.


1. Pyrometallurgy (pyromatallurgy) for extraction of non ferrous metals


Pyrometallurgy refers to the process of preparing metals and alloys by reducing or oxidizing smelting reactions and melting operations at high temperatures. The process of pyrometallurgy generally includes the main processes of raw material preparation (ore dressing, sintering, pelletizing, roasting, etc.), smelting process and refining process. It is the main method of extracting metallurgy. At present, large-scale steel smelting, major non-ferrous metal smelting and the extraction of certain rare metals in the industry are all produced by pyrometallurgical methods.


2. Hydrometallurgy for extraction of non ferrous metals


Hydrometallurgy uses liquid solvents, usually inorganic aqueous or organic solvents, to leaching, separating, and extracting metals and their compounds. The process of hydrometallurgy mainly includes leaching, solid-liquid separation, solution purification and enrichment, and product production from solution. At present, hydrometallurgy is mainly used for the extraction of non-ferrous metals, rare metals and precious metals, and the scope of application is also expanding.


3. Electrometallurgy for extraction of non ferrous metals


Electrometallurgy refers to the process of extracting and refining metals from ore or other raw materials using electrical energy. For example, molten salt electrolysis of aluminum, electric arc furnace smelting of alloy steel, electro slag remelting, etc.


The selection and combination of modern extraction of non-ferrous metals large-scale production process flow mainly depend on the characteristics of the processed ore raw materials, the types of metals to be recovered and the requirements for product quality, as well as the relevant technical and economic indicators and regional conditions, such as Process technology flow, equipment, prices of power fuels and reagents, market economy and requirements of ecological environment protection and many other factors. Generally divided into full pyrometallurgical process and full hydrometallurgical process, but more of them are combined processes, that is, the combined process of pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy, and the combined process of metallurgy and beneficiation.


Therefore, a reasonable combination of various extraction processes, the use of the advantages of various methods, the development of new smelting methods that can handle low-grade ores and difficult-to-handle complex ores, and improve and strengthen the existing smelting process to expand the scope of resources and increase products Variety, high product quality, lower production costs, and reduce environmental pollution are the tasks of metallurgical workers


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