Acid and metal reclamation from mining effluents: Current practices and future perspectives towards sustainability. Issue 3 (June 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Moreira, Victor Rezende; Lebron, Yuri Abner Rocha; Foureaux, Ana Flávia Souza; Santos, Lucilaine Valéria de Souza; Amaral, Míriam Cristina Santos
• Is Part Of: Journal of environmental chemical engineering. Volume 9:Issue 3(2021)
• Publication Date: 2021-06
• Subjects: By-products recovery -- Membranes -- Green solvent -- Ion exchange -- Cleaner processes; Chemical engineering -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; Environmental engineering -- Periodicals; Chemical engineering -- Environmental aspects; Environmental engineering; Periodicals; 660.0286
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jece.2021.105169
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2213-2929

Abstract

Abstract: This paper brings a review of alternative ways for mining effluent processing, focused on by-products recovery by membrane separation process (MSPs), ion exchange (IX) and solvent extraction (SX). Nanofiltration and reverse osmosis achieves retentions greater than 85% and 95%, respectively, of metallic species. The efficiency of membrane distillation (> 99%) and electrodialysis (> 99.9%) were also investigated for mining effluent treatment, both considered as promising alternatives although the reports were restrained to lab-scale investigations. Concerning the IX process, it is presented a summary of the most utilized and commercially available resins, complemented by their selectivity and main operating condition. The process allows a selective extraction of metallic compounds (> 80%), which also promotes an effective recovery of sulfuric acid solution. A summary of the different solvents developed for the SX process were also presented, pointing out to the recent developments in terms of their selective and lower environmental impact. For SX, recoveries up to 99% were reported on recent literature, which reinforces the promising results possible to be achieved when employed for by-products recovery from mining effluent. A recent trend for combining these processes (MSPs, IX and SX) in an integrated route has been perceived in recent literature, and uprises as a future alternative capable to optimize the by-products recovery from mining effluents. Although effective as standalone processes, their integration allows for the harvesting of strengths from each individual process, preventing the production of waste and culminating in process intensification. Graphical Abstract: ga1 Highlights: Byproducts recovery from the mining effluent could be achieved by IX, SX and MSPs. Materials are being developed for enhanced resistance and higher efficiency. IX, SX and MSPs process integration allows for higher sustainability. Green solvents and chelating resins allow for better process efficiency. IX and SX could be promising alternatives for processing MSPs concentrate.