Patent Description:
The development of lithium-ion batteries, and specifically the use of nickel-manganese-cobalt and nickel-cobalt-aluminium cathode materials, has increased the demand for high-purity nickel sulphate, either as a solid or in solution. Indeed, impurities in the cathode materials strongly affect the performance of the batteries. As such, much effort has been devoted to producing high-purity nickel sulphate in an industrially viable process.

In this respect, <CIT> provides a method for obtaining high-purity nickel sulphate having low levels of impurities, particularly low levels of magnesium and chloride, by introduction of a selective nickel sulphide precipitation step and redissolution of nickel sulphide to a nickel sulphate solution. This solution is further refined by solvent extraction to remove cobalt and magnesium impurities, adjusting the concentration of an acidic organic extractant and the pH or acid concentration at the time of treatment. The described processing strategy is cumbersome for concentrated nickel sulphate solutions since it requires an intermediate precipitation and redissolution of the nickel bulk, followed by solvent extraction to remove impurities cobalt and magnesium. Especially the nickel sulphide step is dangerous due to risk of hydrogen sulphide generation. Moreover, the solvent extraction is used only to remove cobalt and magnesium, although crude nickel raw materials typically contain many more impurities.

<CIT> relates to the field of recycling of solid waste and particularly discloses a method for recycling high-purity nickel sulphate from nickel-bearing waste batteries. The method comprises the steps of disassembling the nickel-bearing waste batteries into battery powder, dissolving the battery powder with an acid to obtain a metal-bearing solution, adding alkali metal sulphate, removing iron by an oxidative precipitation process, further removing impurities via a solvent extraction process to obtain magnesium-bearing nickel liquid, passing the magnesium-bearing nickel liquid through chelating-resin exchange columns to selectively adsorb nickel ions and leave a magnesium-rich solution flowing out for treatment, desorbing the nickel ions to obtain a nickel sulphate solution, evaporating the nickel sulphate solution, cooling, crystallizing, filtering, and finally drying to obtain the purified nickel sulphate product. By this lengthy and complex process, it is guaranteed that the recycled nickel sulphate is a high-purity product having a content up to <NUM>% nickel and above, while the impurity, i.e. magnesium, content is less than <NUM>%. However, three different solvent extraction units are proposed to remove copper, manganese and cobalt in separate steps. Apart from high investment costs, other impurities such as calcium and magnesium are not even pretended to be removed. Finally, nickel is recovered by adsorption onto a resin, requiring a fourth separation step and consumption of neutralization agent equivalent to the amount of adsorbed metal ions. Overall, the described process is considered not simple neither efficient.

<CIT> describes a process for extraction of cobalt from a cobalt-nickel solution with solvent loaded with nickel in order to obtain a purified nickel sulphate stream. It does however not learn how to remove impurities such as calcium and magnesium to very low levels in order to produce a purified nickel sulphate solution for electroless nickel or battery applications. It looks more to develop a solvent extraction process where the formation of insoluble ammonium/nickel sulphate double salts can be avoided.

<CIT> explains a process for producing a pure nickel sulphate solution in multiple process steps including a sulphurisation step, a redissolution step, a purification step by precipitation and a solvent extraction step. Especially the steps of sulphurisation and redissolution are expensive operations using a sulphurising agent and producing a sulphide intermediate of nickel, both products are toxic and could lead to generation of the highly toxic and gaseous hydrogen sulphide by contact and reaction with mineral acids. At the end, the purified nickel sulphate solution still contains <NUM>/L magnesium impurity which is too much for battery-grade nickel sulphate, and showing the lack of selectivity of the proposed process.

<CIT> describes a solvent extraction method that allows selective separation of magnesium from an acidic aqueous solution of sulphuric acid. The solvent extraction method includes bringing an acidic aqueous solution of sulphuric acid containing nickel, cobalt and magnesium in contact with an organic solvent to selectively extract magnesium to the organic solvent under very specific extraction conditions: either extract magnesium at rather low pH = <NUM> to <NUM> with a concentrated solvent, i.e. containing <NUM> to <NUM> % of an alkylphosphonic acid as extractant, or at higher pH = <NUM> to <NUM> with a solvent containing a lower extractant concentration, i.e. <NUM> to <NUM>% of an alkylphosphonic acid. This process only aims at removing magnesium and does not separate cobalt from the nickel solution. Remarkably, at most <NUM> % of magnesium was removed from the nickel sulphate solution with already about <NUM> % of nickel co-extracted under the same extraction conditions. Under such conditions a Mg/Ni separation factor of only <NUM> to <NUM> is obtained. When the extractant concentration in the used solvent is decreased below <NUM> vol. % a higher Mg/Ni separation factor up to <NUM> was obtained but with much lower removal of magnesium, i.e. lower than <NUM> %.

<CIT> discloses a method of separating cobalt and magnesium from a nickel-bearing feed solution by liquid-liquid extraction, wherein the used organic solvent contains an alkylphosphinic acid as extracting agent. Both cobalt and magnesium are extracted together with some nickel. Nickel is first washed out from the loaded solvent with an acidic solution. Since the resulting nickel solution may contain some cobalt, it is sent back to the feed solution. Hereafter, magnesium is washed off from the solvent with an acidic solution. The obtained magnesium solution may contain some cobalt and is treated elsewhere. Cobalt is stripped from the solvent with a diluted aqueous solution of an acid to form a cobalt strip solution. Apart from cobalt and magnesium, the patent does not cope with the removal of other metal contaminants in a nickel sulphate solution such as calcium, zinc, cadmium, copper, manganese and iron. Neither does it elaborate on how to reach the desired pH for extraction of cobalt and magnesium from the nickel sulphate solution, given the release of acidic protons during extraction with an acidic extractant.

When EHEHPA, also known as PC88A, is used as an extractant, the extraction behaviour towards magnesium or calcium is similar with the behaviour towards nickel. <CIT> discloses an example of separating nickel and cobalt by extracting cobalt together with other impurities such as calcium, copper, zinc, iron and magnesium by solvent extraction using PC88A as an extractant. When a solution containing nickel at a high concentration is submitted to solvent extraction, the problem occurs that the extraction efficiency of magnesium or calcium is decreased. The difficulty to remove magnesium from the nickel sulphate solution is mentioned. The final impurity output concentration in the purified nickel sulphate solution was still <NUM> to <NUM>/L cobalt, <NUM> to <NUM>/L calcium and <NUM> to <NUM>/L magnesium when containing <NUM> to <NUM>/L nickel. The present invention solves the problem of insufficient calcium extraction by choosing operating conditions that favour calcium extraction but decrease magnesium extraction at the same time. This is offset by implementing an additional and separate solvent extraction for magnesium with a more favourable extracting agent and more favourable operating conditions.

In <CIT> the treatment of a crude nickel sulphate solution in one solvent-extraction process is shown where it is tried to remove all cobalt, magnesium and calcium from the nickel sulphate solution at once. The ratio of the amount of nickel loaded onto the solvent versus the concentration of cobalt in the nickel sulphate solution must be varied depending on the desired removal of impurities. However, from the examples it can be seen that it is not possible to remove all contaminants, as the purified nickel sulphate solution still contains <NUM> to <NUM>/L cobalt, <NUM> to <NUM>/L magnesium and <NUM> to <NUM>/L calcium. Also, the removal of magnesium seems marginal as the input concentration of magnesium in the crude nickel sulphate solution is very low, only <NUM> to <NUM>/L magnesium compared to a very high cobalt concentration of <NUM> to <NUM>/L cobalt. This principle of co-extracting traces of magnesium, even incompletely, together with a large amount of cobalt is evidence that a large amount of nickel onto the solvent is necessarily used. Only it is pretended that magnesium can be better removed when increasing the amount of nickel onto the solvent loaded compared to the concentration of cobalt in the crude nickel sulphate solution. In <CIT>, a similar patent, it is pretended that the amount of magnesium reported to the cobalt eluate, by co-extraction to the solvent, can be influenced by the chosen amount of nickel onto the solvent compared to the concentration of cobalt present in the crude nickel sulphate solution. Same examples as under <CIT>. The purified nickel sulphate solution may still contain impurities as high as <NUM> to <NUM>/L cobalt, <NUM> to <NUM>/L magnesium and <NUM> to <NUM>/L calcium. And the reported amount of co-extracted magnesium to the cobalt eluate can obviously be varied.

In <CIT>, a process is explained where impurities such as cobalt, calcium, copper and zinc are removed from a crude nickel sulphate solution by solvent extraction. A method is disclosed on how to load nickel onto the solvent that can afterwards be used for the removal of the impurities from the crude nickel sulphate solution. However, magnesium is only sparingly removed. In one example still <NUM>/L magnesium is left in the purified nickel sulphate solution, which is usually considered too impure for battery grade nickel sulphate quality. In another example even <NUM> ppm magnesium relative to <NUM>% nickel is left in the purified nickel sulphate solution. The removal of other metals such as cadmium and manganese from the crude nickel sulphate solution is even not considered.

<CIT> discloses a solvent extraction method that can improve separability between nickel and cobalt in a nickel recovery stage. The presented solvent extraction method includes a nickel recovery stage in which an acidic extraction agent carrying nickel and cobalt and an acid are brought into contact, for back-extraction of nickel, to obtain a nickel recovery liquid. The extraction temperature in the nickel recovery stage is set to <NUM>-<NUM>. Since the extraction temperature in the nickel recovery stage is set to <NUM> or higher, a distribution rate of cobalt to an organic solvent can be increased while keeping a low distribution rate of nickel to the organic solvent, so that the separability between nickel and cobalt can be improved. While <CIT> shows that the amount of magnesium and calcium in the nickel solution is affected by the extraction process to separate nickel from cobalt, it does not teach how to optimally reduce the amount of magnesium and calcium impurities in said nickel solution.

<CIT> describes a two-step solvent extraction circuit to remove impurity metals of zinc and cobalt selectively from a valuable metal of nickel. In order to selectively extract zinc there must be sufficient separation between zinc and cobalt in the Cyanex <NUM> system. Similarly for cobalt and nickel, the separation factor must be of sufficient magnitude to obtain a pure nickel product. The process for the solvent extraction of impurity metals is operated at a temperature between <NUM> and <NUM>. Thereby, it is realized that cobalt can selectively be extracted from nickel; and that any iron, copper, zinc, manganese and magnesium is fully co-extracted with cobalt. No further removal of impurities from nickel is advised as such impurities are considered to be present at very low levels.

In conclusion, there is need for a simple and practical method by which high-purity nickel sulphate with low levels of cobalt, calcium, magnesium and other impurities are achieved and which results in nickel sulphate that can be used in high-purity-demanding applications such as electroless deposition of nickel metal layers or as precursor for battery cathode materials. It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel process for producing a high-purity nickel sulphate solution from an aqueous nickel solution comprising cobalt, magnesium and calcium and optionally impurities such as iron, zinc, copper, cadmium and manganese. Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention that nickel sulphate can easily be produced with a stable quality. Finally, it is an object of the present invention to provide a process which allows for the production of a cobalt-rich aqueous solution suitable for further processing out of crude nickel raw materials.

The current invention provides in a solution for at least one of the abovementioned problems by providing a process for preparing a high-purity nickel sulphate solution, as described in claim <NUM>.

The present invention has the advantage that the elements cobalt, zinc, manganese, cadmium, aluminium, copper, calcium, as well as magnesium, all if present, are completely separated from nickel. The invention consists of a two-step solvent-extraction process, where all mentioned impurities except for magnesium are removed completely in a first step, and residual magnesium is removed in a second step.

The overall process according to the invention is efficient in the sense that it provides a nickel solution of high purity, i.e. at least <NUM> at. % nickel relative to the metal content of said solution, while avoiding loss of materials thanks to minimal co-extraction of the matrix element that is nickel; this way avoiding the formation of complex nickel containing mixtures. As such, the process according to the present invention is environmentally friendly. The processing strategy is such that presence in the end solution of unwanted ions originating from used reagents during the nickel refining process in the nickel sulphate end solution, such as calcium from calcium bases, sodium from sodium bases and chlorides from hydrochloric acid is avoided. This way the nickel sulphate solution obtained from the presented process is easily further processed by crystallization or spray drying to form nickel sulphate crystals or granules, respectively, which are easily transported. Advantageously, the present invention also allows for the production of a cobalt-rich eluate, which can be further processed separately, e.g. for the production of high-purity cobalt salts as cobalt chloride, cobalt sulphate or other. The inventive process is simple, environmentally friendly and provides nickel sulphate of high purity.

By means of further guidance, figures are included to better appreciate the teaching of the present invention. Said figures are intended to assist the description of the invention and are nowhere intended as a limitation of the presently disclosed invention. The figures and symbols contained therein have the meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs.

<FIG> shows schematically a process according to the first aspect of the present invention.

"Comprise," "comprising," and "comprises" and "comprised of" as used herein are synonymous with "include", "including", "includes" or "contain", "containing", "contains" and are inclusive or open-ended terms that specifies the presence of what follows at least and do not exclude or preclude the presence of additional, non-recited components, features, elements, members or steps known in the art or disclosed therein.

All percentages are to be understood as percentage by weight, abbreviated as "wt. %" or as volume per cent, abbreviated as "vol. %" or as atomic per cent, abbreviated as "at. %", unless otherwise defined or unless a different meaning is obvious to the person skilled in the art from its use and in the context wherein it is used.

Regarding the organic phase following terms are used to identify its components or the whole:.

The "selectivity" S of an extractant for one metal over another metal can be expressed as the ratio of the distribution coefficients D for both metals: <MAT>.

The "distribution coefficient" of a metal is understood to be the ratio of the equilibrium concentrations of this metal in the organic phase and the same metal in the aqueous phase, respectively: <MAT> wherein M is a metal, such as nickel or magnesium, O refers to the organic phase and A refers to the aqueous phase.

In the context of the present invention, a "solvent extraction circuit" is to be understood as synonymous to the term "solvent extraction," "solvent extraction process", "solvent circuit", "solvent loop", or "solvent extraction loop," and refers to a series of one or multiple solvent extraction sections, each consisting of one or multiple solvent extraction stages. Whereas each extraction section can proceed with a different set of process parameters, such as temperature, pH profile, and solvent-water ratio, a solvent extraction circuit makes use of only one and the same organic phase. The organic phase composition of a solvent extraction circuit is fixed, as characterized by a single set of parameters like the type of extractant, the type of diluent, and the extractant-diluent ratio.

In a first aspect, the present invention provides a process for preparing a high-purity nickel sulphate solution, comprising the steps of:.

The present invention has the advantage that the elements cobalt, magnesium, calcium, and further zinc, manganese, cadmium, iron, aluminium, and copper, if present, are completely separated from nickel in one single process. The process affords a high-purity aqueous nickel sulphate solution comprising nickel with a concentration between <NUM> and <NUM>/L and magnesium with a concentration of at most <NUM>/L (A2), two loaded organic phases, i.e. a cobalt-rich organic phase (O1) comprising calcium, magnesium and nickel, and if present zinc, copper, cadmium and manganese, and a magnesium-enriched organic phase comprising nickel and magnesium (O2). Preferably, said high-purity aqueous nickel sulphate solution comprises at most <NUM>/L magnesium, and even more preferably at most <NUM>/L. Said first and said second organic phase may comprise a modifier.

Said aqueous raffinate solution A1 comprises nickel sulphate together with magnesium in a concentration between <NUM>/L and <NUM>/L, and preferably between <NUM>/L and <NUM>/l, and more preferably between <NUM>/L and <NUM>/L.

Generally, the residual magnesium content in the obtained aqueous raffinate solution (A1) is too high for high-purity applications and is therefore subjected to a second solvent extraction step.

The solvent extraction steps ii. can be performed in any device suitable and are not specifically limited. Solvent extraction equipment generally includes at least one or more devices consisting of a mixer-settler, a column contactor, a centrifugal contactor or any other type of contactor. Preferably, the extraction is performed in a counter-current configuration.

Preferably, the present invention further provides a process according to the first aspect of the invention, further comprising step iv. whereby said cobalt-rich organic phase (O1) comprising calcium, magnesium and nickel, and if present zinc, copper, cadmium and manganese, is stripped with an aqueous solution comprising a mineral acid. This effectively results in the elution of cobalt, calcium, magnesium and if present zinc, copper, cadmium and manganese from said first solvent. Preferably, said mineral acid is one or more selected from the group comprising: hydrofluoric acid, hydrochloric acid, hydrobromic acid, hydroiodic acid, nitric acid, phosphoric acid, sulphuric acid, boric acid and perchloric acid. More preferably, said mineral acid is one or more selected from the group comprising: hydrochloric acid, hydrobromic acid, nitric acid, phosphoric acid and perchloric acid. In another embodiment, said mineral acid is sulphuric acid. Most preferably, said mineral acid is hydrochloric acid. This allows to obtain a concentrated eluate solution comprising cobalt, calcium, magnesium and if present zinc, copper, cadmium and manganese from said first solvent.

The stripping step can be performed in any device suitable and is not specifically limited. Stripping equipment generally includes at least one or more devices consisting of a mixer-settler, a column contactor, a centrifugal contactor or any other type of contactor. Preferably, the stripping is performed in a counter-current configuration.

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a process according to the first aspect of the invention, whereby said aqueous feed solution comprising nickel, cobalt, calcium, magnesium and optionally zinc, copper, cadmium and manganese is obtained by removing iron and/or aluminium from a pregnant leach solution comprising nickel, cobalt, magnesium and iron and/or aluminium, and optionally calcium, zinc, copper, cadmium and manganese. Said iron and/or aluminium can advantageously be removed by adding a basic reagent such as a hydroxide or other to said aqueous solution, thereby forming an iron and/or aluminium hydroxide precipitate. Potentially, addition of an oxidant, like for example oxygen or hydrogen peroxide, might be included in that iron and/or aluminium removal step.

In a preferred embodiment, said iron and/or aluminium is removed by precipitation using a calcium base such as calcium hydroxide, calcium oxide, calcium carbonate, calcium bicarbonate or any other calcium-containing basic reagent. The use of a calcium base is advantageous since calcium forms calcium sulphate, also called gypsum, with low aqueous solubility in this step of the process. Hence, the use of excessive amounts of calcium base is not detrimental to the purity of the obtained nickel sulphate solution. Only a limited amount of calcium will remain into the nickel solution that is sent to the solvent extraction step ii. The latter process is designed such to enable complete removal of calcium from the nickel solution. The formation of calcium sulphate during precipitation of iron and/or aluminium enhances the filterability of the iron and/or aluminium precipitate. Hence, it may be preferred that the calcium base is used in a stoichiometric excess relative to the amount of iron and/or aluminium impurities present in said aqueous feed solution comprising nickel, cobalt, magnesium and iron and/or aluminium.

In another preferred embodiment, the employed base may be a hydroxide or carbonate of nickel or any other nickel-containing basic reagent, thereby introducing beneficial nickel ions in the nickel sulphate solution. Other preferred nickel bases are nickel bicarbonate and nickel hydroxy sulphate.

In yet another preferred embodiment, the employed base may be a hydroxide or carbonate of magnesium or any other magnesium-containing basic reagent, since magnesium is efficiently and effectively removed in the subsequent steps of the inventive process. Other preferred magnesium bases are magnesium bicarbonate and magnesium hydroxy sulphate.

In yet another preferred embodiment, impurities such as iron and/or aluminium may be separated by precipitation using a combination of two or more precipitation agents selected from calcium base, magnesium base and nickel base.

Furthermore, impurities such as iron and/or aluminium may be removed by precipitation in two or more precipitation steps, whereby a different precipitating agent may be used in each precipitation step. In a preferred embodiment, a nickel base is used in a first precipitation step, and a calcium base is used in a subsequent precipitation step.

Alternatively, impurities such as iron and/or aluminium may be separated by other methods such as neutralization. However, the use of alkali bases, such as sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide, will introduce metal impurities into the aqueous feed solution that are not extractable by the subsequent solvent extraction processes, and thus, might complicate a potential crystallization or granulation process at the end of the flowsheet.

In another embodiment, calcium is already present into the nickel feed solution entering the solvent extraction step ii, because it was introduced by raw materials upfront or by using a calcium containing reagent, such as a calcium base as calcium hydroxide, calcium oxide, calcium carbonate, calcium bicarbonate or another Ca containing basic reagent before entering the solvent extraction step ii.

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a process according to the first aspect of the invention, whereby said aqueous feed solution provided in step i. comprises nickel in an amount of at least <NUM> at. %, relative to the total metal content of said aqueous feed solution, and cobalt in an amount of at most <NUM> at. %, relative to the total metal content of said aqueous feed solution. Preferably, said aqueous feed solution comprises nickel in an amount of at least <NUM> at. %, and cobalt in an amount of at most <NUM> at. %, more preferably, said aqueous feed solution comprises nickel in an amount of at least <NUM> at. % and cobalt in an amount of at most <NUM> at. %, and most preferably said aqueous feed solution comprises nickel in an amount of at least <NUM> at. % and cobalt in an amount of at most <NUM> at.

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a process according to the first aspect of the invention, whereby said aqueous feed solution provided in step i. further comprises calcium, magnesium, zinc, copper, cadmium and manganese in a totalized amount of at most <NUM> at. %, relative to the total metal content of said aqueous feed solution. Preferably, said aqueous feed solution further comprises calcium, magnesium, zinc, copper, cadmium and manganese in a totalized amount of at most <NUM> at. % and even more preferably in an amount of at most <NUM> at.

Hereby, the aqueous feed solution can originate from all kinds of resources like mixed hydroxide precipitates, crude nickel sulphate or any other type of suitable resource which is suitable as such or which has optionally been processed into a suitable feed solution. This processing can include leaching, selective leaching, dissolving, precipitation steps and/or any other type of pre-treatment step. Combinations hereof are possible. For example, a pre-processed battery recycling material containing nickel, cobalt, manganese and lithium can be treated in this flowsheet to produce a pure nickel sulphate solution if at least leaching and eventually upfront lithium removal is included in the pre-processing. Alternatively, lithium is removed at the end of step iii. by means of for example lithium ion-exchange columns.

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a process according to the first aspect of the invention, whereby said extractants used in steps ii. comprise alkyl phosphorus-based acids. Suitable alkyl phosphorus-based acids include bis(<NUM>-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid (D2EHPA), (<NUM>-ethylhexyl) phosphonic acid mono(<NUM>-ethylhexyl) ester (EHEHPA, PC88A), bis-(<NUM>,<NUM>,<NUM>-trimethylpentyl) phosphinic acid (CYANEX272 or IONQUEST <NUM>) and diisooctylphosphinic acid (DOPA). Alkylphosphorus-based acids act as chelating extractants due to the presence of coordinative phosphorus and oxygen atoms in these molecules. Among the elements in the aqueous solution, an element that forms the corresponding chelate compound with a higher stability facilitates the extraction efficiency more compared to an element that is less likely to form the chelate compound.

When EHEHPA (PC88A) is used as the extractant, the extraction behaviour of magnesium and calcium is similar to that of nickel. Hence, when a solution containing nickel at high concentration is submitted to solvent extraction, the problem occurs that the extraction efficiency of magnesium and calcium is decreased. The present invention solves the problem of insufficient calcium extraction by choosing operating conditions that favour calcium extraction but decrease magnesium extraction at the same time. The latter is offset by implementing an additional and separate solvent extraction for magnesium with a more favourable second extractant and operating conditions more favourable for the extraction of magnesium.

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a process according to the first aspect of the invention, whereby said second extractant (II) has a higher selectivity for magnesium than said first extractant (I). In other words, said second extractant (II) has an affinity for magnesium higher than the affinity of said first extractant (I). Moreover, said second extractant (II) has a higher selectivity for magnesium than for nickel. Most preferably, the second extractant (II) comprises an alkylphosphinic acid such as IONQUEST <NUM>.

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a process according to the first aspect of the invention, whereby said first extractant (I) has a higher selectivity for calcium over nickel than said second extractant (II). In other words, said first extractant (I) has an affinity for calcium higher compared to nickel than the affinity of said second extractant (II) has for calcium over nickel. Moreover, said first extractant (I) has a higher selectivity for calcium than for nickel. Most preferably, the first extractant (I) comprises an alkylphosphonic acid such as PC88A. Preferably, said first alkylphosphorus-based extractant (I) comprises an alkylphosphonic acid and/or nickel salts thereof, and said second alkyl phosphorus-based extractant (II) comprises an alkylphosphinic acid and/or nickel salts thereof.

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a process according to the first aspect of the invention, whereby said first and said second diluent is a hydrocarbon. More generally, any organic, water-immiscible solvent capable of dissolving the extractant can be used. Hence, the diluent is not specifically limited. As diluent examples, kerosene-based compounds, which can be aliphatic, naphthenic, aromatic or even mixtures thereof, can be used.

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a process according to the first aspect of the invention, whereby said first organic phase used in step ii. comprises said first extractant (I) in an amount of <NUM> to <NUM> vol. %, relative to the total volume of said first organic phase, and said first diluent in an amount of <NUM> to <NUM> vol. %, relative to the total volume of said first organic phase. More preferably, said first organic phase comprises said first extractant (I) in an amount of <NUM> to <NUM> vol. %, and said first diluent in an amount of <NUM> to <NUM> vol.

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a process according to the first aspect of the invention, whereby said second organic phase used in step iii. comprises said second extractant (II) in an amount of <NUM> to <NUM> vol. %, relative to the total volume of said second organic phase, and said second diluent in an amount of <NUM> to <NUM> vol. %, relative to the total volume of said second organic phase. More preferably, said second organic phase comprises said second extractant (II) in an amount of <NUM> to <NUM> vol. %, and said diluent in an amount of <NUM> to <NUM> vol. It was found that the extractant concentration in the organic phase allowed for an optimal extraction of magnesium without loss of processability of the solvent.

In a preferred embodiment, said extractants used in steps ii. are neutralized with an alkali metal hydroxide and preloaded with nickel at a high pH, prior to use for extraction in steps ii. and iii, where the nickel-preloaded organic phase is brought into contact with the aqueous feed solution containing impurities. In such case, an exchange reaction occurs by which elements that are more likely to be extracted than nickel are transferred to the solvent, whereas nickel in the organic phase is transferred to the aqueous phase. As a result, impurities are removed from the aqueous feed solution while increasing the nickel concentration in the resulting raffinate solution, hence largely avoiding introduction of the alkali metal from the neutralizing agent to the main process (raffinate) stream. As alkali metal hydroxide can be used sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, ammonium hydroxide or the like. Yet, preferably, sodium hydroxide is used as an alkali metal hydroxide.

It was found that preloading of said extractants used in steps ii. with nickel allowed for an optimal and improved extraction without loss of processability of the extractant. During this preloading step, the partially neutralized extractant, i.e. being in the alkali-metal-converted form, exchanges the alkali metal, typically sodium, on the extractant for nickel from an aqueous nickel sulphate solution. Preferably, the residual amount of alkali metal on the preloaded solvent is as low as possible, so to limit transfer of residual alkali metal from the preloaded solvent to the aqueous feed solution when extracting impurities from this solution.

Part of nickel may be replaced by another harmless metal that will exchange with the impurities to be extracted from the aqueous nickel sulphate solution to be purified. This could be an alkali metal such as sodium or potassium, a similar species like ammonium. However, these other metals may impart the extraction of such metals present in the aqueous nickel sulphate solution to be purified, or even contaminate the nickel sulphate solution by exchanging with impurities to be extracted.

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a process according to the first aspect of the invention, whereby, prior to extraction, said extractants are converted to their nickel salts corresponding to an appropriate conversion of the extractant, hence comprising nickel in an amount between <NUM> and <NUM>% of the available extractant capacity and residual sodium accounting to a concentration of <NUM>/L at most, preferably at most <NUM>/L, and more preferably at most <NUM>/L. Preferably, nickel is preloaded to an amount between <NUM> and <NUM>% of the available extractant capacity, and preferably more than <NUM>% of the available extractant capacity, and residual sodium accounting to a concentration of <NUM>/L at most. More preferably, nickel is preloaded to an amount between <NUM> and <NUM>% of the available extractant capacity and residual sodium accounting to a concentration of <NUM>/L at most.

The preferred nickel concentration on the preloaded solvent thus depends on the extractant concentration and the conversion degree. Both are determined by the target pH in the aqueous feed solution, and so, are function of the total amount of impurities to be removed. A higher conversion degree of the extractant results in a higher pH during extraction, allowing for a higher extraction of impurities (and nickel) from the nickel-containing feed solution, whereas a lower conversion degree of the extractant results in a lower pH during extraction, allowing for a better selectivity for the impurities towards nickel.

In a preferred embodiment, the preloaded solvent containing nickel and possibly some other metals such as sodium, potassium or other ones, or other cations such as ammonium, may be contacted again with a pure nickel-containing solution, such as a nickel sulphate or a nickel chloride solution, in order to further exchange the metals sodium, potassium, ammonium or other ones on the solvent with nickel from the pure nickel-containing solution. The nickel-preloading operation can be performed in two or more stages, preferably in counter-current operation, with at least a pure nickel sulphate solution, so to scrub possibly co-extracted alkali metals from the used base off from the solvent. As a result, a nickel-preloaded solvent containing significantly fewer other metals is obtained that can be used in extraction steps ii. , this way maximally avoiding contamination of the aqueous nickel solution with unwanted metals.

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a process according to the first aspect of the invention, whereby said aqueous feed solution entering step ii. has a pH between <NUM> and <NUM> before being contacted with said solvents comprising extractant I, generating a chemical equilibrium between the aqueous nickel solution and the solvent, more preferably at a pH between <NUM> and <NUM>, and most preferably at a pH between <NUM> and <NUM>.

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a process according to the first aspect of the invention, whereby said extraction in step ii. is performed at a temperature between <NUM> and <NUM>, preferably between <NUM> and <NUM>, more preferably between <NUM> and <NUM>, or even between <NUM> and <NUM>. More preferably, said extraction in step ii. is performed at a temperature between <NUM> and <NUM>. The inventors have found that the extraction of calcium from the nickel solution improves at lower temperatures. Therefore, it is preferred that the extraction temperature of step ii. is lower than <NUM>, and preferably lower than <NUM>. However, at lower temperatures, the efficiency of cobalt extraction is reduced. Therefore, it is preferred that an extraction temperature of above <NUM>, preferably above <NUM>, and more preferably above <NUM> is used. Thus, most preferably, the extraction temperature in step ii. is higher than <NUM> and lower than <NUM>, preferably higher than <NUM> and lower than <NUM>, and more preferably higher than <NUM> and lower than <NUM>. Specifically, said extraction temperature is <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> or <NUM>, or any temperature there in between.

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a process according to the first aspect of the invention, whereby said aqueous raffinate solution resulting from step ii. and entering step iii. has a pH between <NUM> and <NUM> before being contacted with said second solvent comprising extractant II, generating a chemical equilibrium between the aqueous nickel solution and the second solvent, more preferably at a pH between <NUM> and <NUM>, and most preferably at a pH between <NUM> and <NUM>.

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a process according to the first aspect of the invention, whereby said extraction in step iii. is performed at a temperature of at least <NUM>, at least <NUM>, preferably at least <NUM>, and at most <NUM>. Preferably, said extraction in step iii. is performed at a temperature between <NUM> and <NUM>, or even between <NUM> and <NUM>. More preferably, said extraction in step iii. is performed at a temperature between <NUM> and <NUM>. The inventors have found that the extraction of magnesium from the nickel solution improves with higher extraction temperatures. Nevertheless, it is preferred that the extraction temperature is limited to below <NUM>, below <NUM> or below <NUM> for reasons of processability of the organic solvent and safety related aspects of the organic solvent.

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a process according to the first aspect of the invention, whereby said extraction in step iii. is performed at a temperature higher than the temperature of said extraction in step ii. Preferably, the temperature in step iii. is at least <NUM> higher than the temperature in step ii. , more preferably at least <NUM> higher and more preferably <NUM> to <NUM> higher, and most preferably about <NUM> higher.

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a process according to the first aspect of the invention, whereby said aqueous high-purity nickel sulphate solution obtained after step iii. is subjected to crystallization or granulation. Preferably, nickel sulphate in said nickel sulphate solution is crystallized, thereby allowing for an additional purification step. In case of granulation, any granulation technique known to the skilled person is suitable, such as e.g. spray drying.

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a process according to the first aspect of the invention, whereby nickel is scrubbed from said cobalt-rich organic phase and/or from said magnesium-enriched organic phase. To recover this co-extracted nickel from the loaded organic phases before going to the impurity stripping, it is first scrubbed selectively from these solvents by washing with an acidic solution, such as a sulphuric acid solution in water. Nickel is selectively scrubbed by applying optimal conditions of pH, specifically the acidity of the final scrub solution, and the added amount of acid is adapted to reach this required pH.

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a process according to the first aspect of the invention, whereby said stripping step in step iv. is performed with hydrochloric acid. Said stripping step allows for eluting nickel with cobalt, calcium, magnesium and if present zinc, copper, cadmium, and manganese from said first loaded solvent (O1). As such, the extractant is regenerated to yield a metal-free solvent that can be reused for extraction or preloading. Given the presence of calcium in the obtained stripping solution, the use of hydrochloric acid is preferred. By stripping with hydrochloric acid, calcium chloride is formed which is readily water soluble. This way, the metal content can be concentrated from solvent to aqueous solution. Given the low solubility of calcium sulphate, the use of sulphuric acid could induce the formation of a solid precipitate disrupting the solvent extraction processing.

In a preferred embodiment, said hydrochloric acid solution has a concentration of at least <NUM>/L, and more preferably a concentration between <NUM>/L and <NUM>/L.

In a preferred embodiment, said stripping in step iv. is performed at a temperature between <NUM> and <NUM>, preferably between <NUM> and <NUM>, and more preferably at a temperature of about <NUM>.

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a post-treatment step according to the first aspect of the invention, whereby said magnesium-depleted, high-purity aqueous nickel sulphate solution comprises nickel in a concentration of <NUM> to <NUM>/L, and magnesium in a concentration of at most <NUM>/L, preferably at most <NUM>/L. Preferably, said high-purity aqueous nickel sulphate solution has the content of calcium, cobalt, iron, aluminium, zinc, manganese and/or cadmium, each individually in an amount of at most <NUM>/L, preferably in an amount of at most <NUM>/L, or even at most <NUM>/L.

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a post-treatment step according to the first aspect of the invention, whereby said cobalt-enriched organic phase, after stripping with hydrochloric acid in step iv. , is additionally washed with sulphuric acid. Preferably, said solvent is washed with sulphuric acid comprised in an aqueous solution with a concentration of <NUM> to <NUM>/L. Washing with sulphuric acid allows for the removal of chloride ions and possibly residual metals, such as iron or aluminium, from the solvent. As such, the solvent is regenerated and can be reused for extraction after it is preloaded.

In a preferred embodiment, the present invention provides a stripping of the second solvent containing magnesium and nickel with sulphuric acid. Preferably, said solvent is washed with sulphuric acid comprised in an aqueous solution with a concentration of <NUM> to <NUM>/L. Washing with sulphuric acid allows also for the removal of possibly residual metals, such as iron or aluminium, from the solvent. As such, the solvent is regenerated and can be reused for extraction after it is preloaded.

For each process step an example is given to further clarify the present invention. These examples are based on experimentally derived data and nowhere intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

An aqueous leachate solution is obtained from leaching a crude NiSO<NUM> raw material. This leachate solution is subjected to a de-ironing operation by neutralization with Ni(OH)<NUM> followed by Ca(OH)<NUM> in a subsequent step. A solid iron cake is formed which is filtrated and separated from the aqueous solution. The compositions of the aqueous nickel sulphate solution before and after this two-step de-ironing operation are presented in the table below. The resulting aqueous feed solution comprising nickel, cobalt, calcium, magnesium, copper, zinc and manganese is devoid of iron and aluminium and proceeds to the solvent extraction installation.

The first solvent is prepared by combining (<NUM>-ethylhexyl) phosphonic acid mono(<NUM>-ethylhexyl) ester (PC88A) and a hydrocarbon diluent, Escaid <NUM> (ExxonMobil). The first solvent is composed of <NUM> vol% PC88A and <NUM> vol% hydrocarbon diluent. In two consecutive steps, the solvent is contacted with a high-purity aqueous nickel sulphate solution containing <NUM>/L nickel and <NUM>/L sodium. A <NUM>/L NaOH solution is added into a mixer-settler, in such a volume that a preloaded solvent containing <NUM>/L nickel is targeted. This corresponds to a conversion degree of <NUM>% of the total extractant capacity. After one preloading step, the solvent contains <NUM>/L nickel and <NUM>/L sodium. After the second preloading step, a solvent containing <NUM>/L nickel and a residual sodium concentration of <NUM>/L is obtained.

The aqueous feed solution is mixed in several stages with the first solvent comprising PC88A, preloaded to <NUM>/L nickel, to extract cobalt, calcium, zinc, copper, manganese and part of magnesium at a temperature of <NUM>. The extraction section consists of four consecutive mixer-settlers. A first loaded solvent containing nickel, cobalt, calcium, magnesium, copper, zinc, manganese and cadmium (O1) and an aqueous raffinate solution comprising nickel sulphate together with a significant residual amount of magnesium (A1) are obtained in addition to sodium having a concentration below <NUM>/L. Compositions of feed solution and raffinate are presented in the table below. The nickel concentration in the aqueous raffinate increases compared to the nickel concentration in the aqueous feed solution because nickel on the preloaded solvent was stoichiometrically exchanged for impurities from the feed solution during extraction.

After extraction, the first loaded solvent containing sodium, nickel, cobalt, calcium, magnesium, zinc, cadmium and manganese is treated with an aqueous solution composed of hydrochloric acid with a concentration of <NUM>/L and at a temperature of <NUM>. The elution section consists of multi-stage mixer-settler set-up. The solvent is regenerated and an aqueous eluate with <NUM>/L residual hydrochloric acid is produced. Compositions of loaded and stripped solvent are presented in the table below.

After the elution section the first solvent can be washed with an aqueous solution composed of sulphuric acid. The most important goal of this aftertreatment of the stripped solvent is to remove entrained hydrochloric acid from the preceding elution section. Therefore, the stripped solvent is contacted with a sulphuric acid (<NUM>/L) solution. As a result, all residual contaminants are removed from the stripped solvent; Ni, Co, Ca, Mg, Zn, Mn, Cd, Na and Cl all < <NUM>/L. Hence, it can be regenerated for a next cycle.

After extraction and prior to stripping, an additional scrubbing step may be opted for to avoid loss of nickel to the eluate. The first loaded solvent containing sodium, nickel, cobalt, calcium, magnesium, zinc and manganese is combined with an aqueous solution composed of sulphuric acid with a concentration of <NUM>/L. The experiment is performed at a temperature of <NUM>. The scrubbing section consists of three consecutive mixer-settlers. Compositions of the solvent before and after scrubbing are presented in the table below. A high selectivity is obtained: whereas nickel is scrubbed with a yield of <NUM>% and Mg is scrubbed for <NUM>%, all other impurities remain on the solvent.

The second solvent is prepared by combining bis-(<NUM>,<NUM>,<NUM>-trimethylpentyl) phosphinic acid (IONQUEST <NUM>) and Escaid <NUM> (ExxonMobil), a hydrocarbon diluent. The second solvent is composed of <NUM> vol% IONQUEST <NUM> and <NUM> vol% Escaid <NUM>. In two consecutive steps in a counter-current configuration, the solvent is contacted with a high-purity aqueous nickel sulphate solution containing <NUM>/L nickel and <NUM>/L sodium. A <NUM>/L NaOH solution is used such that a preloaded solvent containing around <NUM>/L nickel is obtained. This corresponds to a conversion degree of <NUM>% of the total extractant capacity. After one preloading step, the solvent contains <NUM>/L nickel and <NUM>/L sodium. After the second preloading step, a solvent containing <NUM>/L nickel and a residual sodium concentration of <NUM>/L is obtained. More or less nickel or residual sodium on the preloaded solvent is possible, depending on the exact conditions.

In another example, higher extractant concentrations are applied. The second solvent, comprising IONQUEST <NUM> and Escaid <NUM>, is contacted in one step with a high-purity aqueous nickel sulphate solution containing <NUM>/L nickel, <NUM>/L magnesium and <NUM>/L sodium at a temperature of <NUM>. pH is kept constant at a value of <NUM> with a <NUM>/L NaOH solution. The amount of nickel loaded on the solvent as a function of the extractant concentration is given in in the table below.

Aqueous raffinate obtained after the first solvent extraction (A1), containing <NUM>/L nickel and <NUM>/L magnesium, is mixed with the second solvent comprising IONQUEST <NUM>, preloaded to <NUM>/L nickel, to extract the residual part of magnesium at a temperature of <NUM>. The extraction section consists of five mixer-settlers in a counter-current configuration. What leaves the solvent extraction installation is (i) a second loaded solvent containing nickel and magnesium (O2), and (ii) an aqueous high-purity nickel sulphate solution containing only <NUM>/L magnesium (A2), hence which can proceed to a crystallization or granulation operation to obtain a high-purity nickel sulphate product. The nickel concentration in the aqueous raffinate increased to <NUM>/L because nickel on the preloaded solvent was stoichiometrically exchanged for impurities from the feed solution during extraction.

After extraction and prior to elution, an additional scrubbing step may be opted for to avoid loss of nickel to the eluate. The second loaded solvent containing <NUM>/L nickel and <NUM>/L magnesium is combined with an aqueous solution composed of sulphuric acid with a concentration of <NUM>/L. The experiment is performed at a temperature of <NUM>. The scrubbing section consists of three consecutive mixer-settlers. With the nickel concentration decreasing to <NUM>/L nickel on the scrubbed solvent, a scrubbing yield of <NUM>% is obtained. During this scrubbing operation no magnesium is co-scrubbed, yielding a scrubbed solvent with <NUM>/L magnesium.

In this example the effect of temperature on extraction of calcium, cobalt and magnesium is shown. The first solvent, comprising <NUM> vol% PC88A and <NUM> vol% Escaid <NUM>, preloaded with <NUM>/L nickel, is contacted in two consecutive steps with an aqueous feed solution containing <NUM>/L nickel, <NUM>/L calcium, <NUM>/L cobalt and <NUM>/L magnesium. The extraction percentages at <NUM> and <NUM> are given for the different impurities in the table below. Whereas a lower temperature favours the extraction of calcium, a higher temperature favours the extraction of cobalt and magnesium.

Thus, the experimental results show that the extraction of calcium from the nickel solution improves at lower extraction temperatures. Therefore, it is preferred that the extraction temperature in this step is lower than <NUM>, and preferably lower than <NUM>. However, at lower extraction temperatures, the efficiency of cobalt extraction is also reduced. Therefore, it is preferred that an extraction temperature of above <NUM>, preferably above <NUM>, and more preferably above <NUM> is used. Most preferably, the extraction temperature is higher than <NUM> and lower than <NUM>, preferably higher than <NUM> and lower than <NUM>, and more preferably higher than <NUM> and lower than <NUM>.

In another example the effect of temperature on extraction of magnesium is shown. The second solvent, comprising <NUM> vol% IONQUEST <NUM> and <NUM> vol% Escaid <NUM> is contacted in one step with an aqueous feed solution containing <NUM>/L nickel and <NUM>/L magnesium. pH is controlled at pH = <NUM>. In the table below, it is shown that extraction percentages for magnesium increase from <NUM> over <NUM> to <NUM>, whereas extraction of nickel remains low. As a result, the selectivity for magnesium over nickel increases with higher temperature.

Claim 1:
Process for preparing a high-purity nickel sulphate solution, comprising the steps of:
i. providing an aqueous feed solution comprising nickel, cobalt, calcium and magnesium;
ii. in a first solvent extraction circuit, extracting cobalt, calcium and, at least in part, magnesium, and if present zinc, copper, cadmium and manganese, from said aqueous feed solution using a first organic phase comprising a first alkylphosphorus-based extractant (I) and a first diluent, thereby obtaining an aqueous raffinate solution comprising nickel and a residual magnesium content and a cobalt-rich and calcium containing organic phase;
iii. in a second solvent extraction circuit, extracting magnesium from said aqueous raffinate solution using a second organic phase comprising a second alkyl phosphorus-based extractant (II) and a second diluent, thereby obtaining a magnesium-depleted, high-purity aqueous nickel sulphate solution and a magnesium-enriched organic phase; and
iv. stripping said cobalt-rich organic phase obtained in step ii. with an aqueous solution comprising a mineral acid,
whereby said first solvent extraction circuit and said second solvent extraction circuit operate at a different temperature and/or with a different extractant.