Patent ID: 6852237

Claim:
A method for treating a liquid contaminated starting material having mineral elements and charged ions, said mineral elements and charged ions being solvated, chelated, or complexed in a structural arrangement, said method comprising the steps of: contacting said starting material with an aqueous caustic silica solution consisting of: an admixture of silica and at least one compound selected from the group consisting of sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, and ammonium hydroxide; said aqueous caustic silica solution comprising from about 0.5% to about 5% w/w dissolved silica and about from 5% to about 60% w/w of a hydroxide component; prolonging said contact between said aqueous caustic silica solution and said starting material for effecting breaking apart of said structured arrangement; releasing said mineral elements and said charged ions from said structured arrangement; solubilizing said released mineral elements and said released charged ions in said aqueous caustic silica solution; and sustaining said solubility of said released mineral elements and said released charged ions in said aqueous caustic silica solution, for subsequent extraction operations.