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Lixiviant
A lixiviant is a chemical used in hydrometallurgy to extract elements from its ore. The term lixiviant can be somewhat obscure, as it is not mentioned in reviews of metallurgy. Extraction of gold One of the most famous lixiviants is cyanide, which is used in extracting 90% of mined gold. The combination of cyanide and the oxygen in air converts gold particles into a soluble salt. Once separated from the bulk gangue, the solution is processed in a series of steps to give the metal. A wide variety of less toxic alternatives to cyanide have been evaluated including thioureas, thiocyanate, and thiosulfate. Several of these lixiviants are applicable to metals other than gold. Dissolution of other metals Typically lixiviants are applied to the extraction of ions of valuable metals from some processed form of an ore. Lixiviants are also used for the recovery of metals from wastes and scrap. Circuit boards and spent catalysts often contain platinum and other valuable metals. Some o ...
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In Situ Leach
In-situ leaching (ISL), also called in-situ recovery (ISR) or solution mining, is a mining process used to recover minerals such as copper and uranium through boreholes drilled into a deposit, '' in situ''. In-situ leach works by artificially dissolving minerals occurring naturally in the solid state. The process initially involves the drilling of boreholes into the ore deposit. Explosive or hydraulic fracturing can be used to create open pathways in the deposit for the solution to penetrate. Leaching solution is pumped into the deposit where it comes in contact with the ore. The solution bearing the dissolved ore content is then pumped to the surface and processed. This process allows the extraction of metals and salts from an ore body without the need for conventional mining involving drill-and-blast, open-cut or underground mining. Process In-situ leach mining involves pumping of a lixiviant into the ore body via a borehole, which circulates through the porous rock ...
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Hydrometallurgy
Hydrometallurgy is a technique within the field of extractive metallurgy, the obtaining of metals from their ores. Hydrometallurgy uses solutions to recover metals from ores, concentrates, and recycled or residual materials. Usually the extracting solution is aqueous (water-based), often containing additives such as acids. In select cases, the extracting solvent is nonaqueous. Brent Hiskey "Metallurgy, Survey" in Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, 2000, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. Processing techniques that complement hydrometallurgy are pyrometallurgy, vapour metallurgy, and molten salt electrometallurgy. Hydrometallurgy is typically divided into three general areas: *Leaching *Solution concentration and purification *Metal or metal compound recovery Leaching : Leaching (metallurgy), Leaching involves the use of aqueous solutions to extract metal from metal-bearing materials. The extracting solution is called a lixiviant. The lixiviant is optimized in terms of pH, ox ...
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Cyanide
In chemistry, cyanide () is an inorganic chemical compound that contains a functional group. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom. Ionic cyanides contain the cyanide anion . This anion is extremely poisonous. Soluble cyanide salts such as sodium cyanide (NaCN), potassium cyanide (KCN) and tetraethylammonium cyanide () are highly toxic. Covalent cyanides contain the group, and are usually called nitriles if the group is linked by a single covalent bond to carbon atom. For example, in acetonitrile , the cyanide group is bonded to methyl . In tetracyanomethane , four cyano groups are bonded to carbon. Although nitriles generally do not release cyanide ions, the cyanohydrins do and are thus toxic. The cyano group may be covalently bonded to atoms different than carbon, e.g., in cyanogen azide , phosphorus tricyanide and trimethylsilyl cyanide . Hydrogen cyanide, or , is a highly volatile toxic liquid tha ...
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Thiourea
Thiourea () is an organosulfur compound with the formula and the structure . It is structurally similar to urea (), with the oxygen atom replaced by sulfur atom (as implied by the '' thio-'' prefix). The properties of urea and thiourea differ significantly. Thiourea is a reagent in organic synthesis. Thioureas are a broad class of compounds with the formula Structure and bonding Thiourea is a planar molecule. The C=S bond distance is 1.71 Å. The C-N distances average 1.33 Å. The weakening of the C-S bond by C-N pi-bonding is indicated by the short C=S bond in thiobenzophenone, which is 1.63 Å. Thiourea occurs in two tautomeric forms, of which the thione form predominates in aqueous solutions. The equilibrium constant has been calculated as ''K''eq is . The thiol form, which is also known as an isothiourea, can be encountered in substituted compounds such as isothiouronium salts. : Production The global annual production of thiourea is around 8,000 tonnes, mo ...
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Chemical
A chemical substance is a unique form of matter with constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Chemical substances may take the form of a single element or chemical compounds. If two or more chemical substances can be combined without reacting, they may form a chemical mixture. If a mixture is separated to isolate one chemical substance to a desired degree, the resulting substance is said to be chemically pure. Chemical substances can exist in several different physical states or phases (e.g. solids, liquids, gases, or plasma) without changing their chemical composition. Substances transition between these phases of matter in response to changes in temperature or pressure. Some chemical substances can be combined or converted into new substances by means of chemical reactions. Chemicals that do not possess this ability are said to be inert. Pure water is an example of a chemical substance, with a constant composition of two hydrogen atoms bonded to ...
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Leaching (metallurgy)
Leaching is a process widely used in extractive metallurgy where ore is treated with chemicals to convert the valuable metals within the ore, into soluble salts while the impurity remains insoluble. These can then be washed out and processed to give the pure metal; the materials left over are commonly known as tailings. Compared to pyrometallurgy, leaching is easier to perform, requires less energy and is potentially less harmful as no gaseous pollution occurs. Drawbacks of leaching include its lower efficiency and the often significant quantities of waste effluent and tailings produced, which are usually either highly acidic or alkali as well as toxic (e.g. bauxite tailings). There are four types of leaching: # Cyanide leaching (e.g. gold ore) # Ammonia leaching (e.g. crushed ore) # Alkali leaching (e.g. bauxite ore) # Acid leaching (e.g. sulfide ore) Leaching is also notable in the extraction of rare earth elements, which consists of lanthanides, yttrium and scandium. ...
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Lewis Base
A Lewis acid (named for the American physical chemist Gilbert N. Lewis) is a chemical species that contains an empty orbital which is capable of accepting an electron pair from a Lewis base to form a Lewis adduct. A Lewis base, then, is any species that has a filled orbital containing an electron pair which is not involved in bonding but may form a dative bond with a Lewis acid to form a Lewis adduct. For example, NH3 is a Lewis base, because it can donate its lone pair of electrons. Trimethylborane CH3)3Bis a Lewis acid as it is capable of accepting a lone pair. In a Lewis adduct, the Lewis acid and base share an electron pair furnished by the Lewis base, forming a dative bond. In the context of a specific chemical reaction between NH3 and Me3B, a lone pair from NH3 will form a dative bond with the empty orbital of Me3B to form an adduct NH3•BMe3. The terminology refers to the contributions of Gilbert N. Lewis. From p. 142: "We are inclined to think of substances as pos ...
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Halogen
The halogens () are a group in the periodic table consisting of six chemically related elements: fluorine (F), chlorine (Cl), bromine (Br), iodine (I), and the radioactive elements astatine (At) and tennessine (Ts), though some authors would exclude tennessine as its chemistry is unknown and is theoretically expected to be more like that of gallium. In the modern IUPAC nomenclature, this group is known as group 17. The word "halogen" means "salt former" or "salt maker". When halogens react with metals, they produce a wide range of salts, including calcium fluoride, sodium chloride (common table salt), silver bromide and potassium iodide. The group of halogens is the only periodic table group that contains elements in three of the main states of matter at standard temperature and pressure, though not far above room temperature the same becomes true of groups 1 and 15, assuming white phosphorus is taken as the standard state.This could also be the case for group 12, al ...
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Metal Complex
A coordination complex is a chemical compound consisting of a central atom or ion, which is usually metallic and is called the ''coordination centre'', and a surrounding array of bound molecules or ions, that are in turn known as ''ligands'' or complexing agents. Many metal-containing compounds, especially those that include transition metals (elements like titanium that belong to the periodic table's d-block), are coordination complexes. Nomenclature and terminology Coordination complexes are so pervasive that their structures and reactions are described in many ways, sometimes confusingly. The atom within a ligand that is bonded to the central metal atom or ion is called the donor atom. In a typical complex, a metal ion is bonded to several donor atoms, which can be the same or different. A polydentate (multiple bonded) ligand is a molecule or ion that bonds to the central atom through several of the ligand's atoms; ligands with 2, 3, 4 or even 6 bonds to the central a ...
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Iodine
Iodine is a chemical element; it has symbol I and atomic number 53. The heaviest of the stable halogens, it exists at standard conditions as a semi-lustrous, non-metallic solid that melts to form a deep violet liquid at , and boils to a violet gas at . The element was discovered by the French chemist Bernard Courtois in 1811 and was named two years later by Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac, after the Ancient Greek , meaning 'violet'. Iodine occurs in many oxidation states, including iodide (I−), iodate (), and the various periodate anions. As the heaviest essential mineral nutrient, iodine is required for the synthesis of thyroid hormones. Iodine deficiency affects about two billion people and is the leading preventable cause of intellectual disabilities. The dominant producers of iodine today are Chile and Japan. Due to its high atomic number and ease of attachment to organic compounds, it has also found favour as a non-toxic radiocontrast material. Because of the spec ...
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Hydrogen Peroxide
Hydrogen peroxide is a chemical compound with the formula . In its pure form, it is a very pale blue liquid that is slightly more viscosity, viscous than Properties of water, water. It is used as an oxidizer, bleaching agent, and antiseptic, usually as a dilute solution (3%–6% by weight) in water for consumer use and in higher concentrations for industrial use. Concentrated hydrogen peroxide, or "high-test peroxide", decomposes explosively when heated and has been used as both a monopropellant and an oxidizer in rocketry. Hydrogen peroxide is a reactive oxygen species and the simplest peroxide, a compound having an oxygen–oxygen single bond. It decomposes slowly into water and elemental oxygen when exposed to light, and rapidly in the presence of organic or reactive compounds. It is typically stored with a Stabilizer (chemistry), stabilizer in a weakly acidic solution in an opaque bottle. Hydrogen peroxide is found in biological systems including the human body. Enzymes that u ...
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Iodide
An iodide ion is I−. Compounds with iodine in formal oxidation state −1 are called iodides. In everyday life, iodide is most commonly encountered as a component of iodized salt, which many governments mandate. Worldwide, iodine deficiency affects two billion people and is the leading preventable cause of intellectual disability. Structure and characteristics of inorganic iodides Iodide is one of the largest monatomic anions. It is assigned a radius of around 206 picometers. For comparison, the lighter halides are considerably smaller: bromide (196 pm), chloride (181 pm), and fluoride (133 pm). In part because of its size, iodide forms relatively weak bonds with most elements. Most iodide salts are soluble in water, but often less so than the related chlorides and bromides. Iodide, being large, is less hydrophilic compared to the smaller anions. One consequence of this is that sodium iodide is highly soluble in acetone, whereas sodium chloride is not. The l ...
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