METHOD FOR EXTRACTING NOBLE METALS FROM SOLUTIONS AND PULPS AND REACTOR FOR PERFORMING THE SAME Russian patent published in 2005 - IPC

FIELD: hydraulic metallurgy of noble metals, possibly extraction of metals from different depleted solutions, pulps and also from liquid enrichment residues.

SUBSTANCE: method comprises steps of providing contact of pulp in reactor with ion-exchange sorbent in condition of electric field action; separating sorbent from medium, desorption of it and extracting metals; using mixture of anion- and cation-exchange synthetic sorbents as ion-exchange sorbent. Action of electric field is realized separately in zone of fluidic stream and in zone of free flowing. In zone of fluidic stream medium is passed through system of alternating anodes-cathodes with potential difference sufficient for sorption by means of said sorbent and for metal deposition while providing circulation due to ejection of pulp at inlet of reactor. Reactor includes flow-through housing with bottom, inlet and draining branch pipes, electrodes mounted in housing and connected with constant voltage source. Reactor includes in addition nozzle adapter and cone narrowed hydraulic adapter, both communicated with inlet branch pipe and mounted coaxially for forming fluidic stream; two funnel like partitions with grids. One grid is arranged in bottom and its is hydraulically communicated with draining branch pipe; other grid is arranged with gap relative to cone branch pipe and other for circulation of medium. Two groups of electrodes are secured to upper portion of reactor. First group of electrodes includes system of connected in pairs and successively mounted anodes-cathodes arranged symmetrically relative to said adapters in zone of fluidic stream. Second group of electrodes includes array of cathodes with power-supplying anodes and it is arranged in periphery at both sides of electrodes of first group in zone of free flowing of medium.

EFFECT: enhanced efficiency of extraction of noble metals.

8 cl, 2 dwg