Sulfuric Acid Leaching for Low Nickel Matte Under Atmospheric Pressure

This research focuses on leaching low nickel matte through sulfuric acid under atmospheric pressure, in which the Ni/Fe/Co enter into solution, noble elements and Cu2S remain in the residue and the sulfur in Ni/Fe/Co sulfide is converted to H2S. The subsequent process can be divided into three parts: (1) Fe in the solution can be removed by forming hematite or goethite and Ni/Co can be separated by organophosphorus extractants; (2) the noble elements and Cu2S can be further treated in copper smelting process; and (3) H2S can be transformed into elemental sulfur by Claus process. Compared with pyrometallurgy for copper-nickel sulfide ores, this method has advantages, such as low equipment requirement of atmospheric leaching, high recovery for noble elements and cobalt, convenient storage of sulfur than sulfuric acid and producing nickel sulfate that can be directly used in ternary materials. The whole process achieves the comprehensive utilization of low nickel matte with technical and economic benefits.