The interdisciplinary nature of hydrometallurgy
- PDF / 486,186 Bytes
- 11 Pages / 606.24 x 786 pts Page_size
- 83 Downloads / 176 Views
10/31/03
9:36 AM
Page 757
The 2003 Extraction and Processing Distinguished Lecture The Minerals, Metals, and Materials Society
The Interdisciplinary Nature of Hydrometallurgy
KENNETH N. HAN
Hydrometallurgical extraction of metals is an important widely practiced technology in the metallurgical industry for treating both primary and secondary resources of valuable metals. Successful hydrometallurgical approaches to metal extraction require a full understanding of a wide spectrum of scientific and engineering principles in many disciplines. These include solution chemistry, electrochemistry, thermodynamics, kinetics, transport processes, and, frequently, biology. In this article, intricate relationships among various disciplines influencing hydrometallurgical extraction are reviewed and analyzed with pertinent examples. The effect of operating parameters on the overall extraction strategy are examined and discussed.
THE contribution of hydrometallurgy to the technological advancement of metal extraction is undeniable. In reviewing the historical development of extractive metallurgy, it is believed that copper reduction from ores by smelting occurred prior to recorded civilization, and that tin reduction from ores by smelting occurred prior to 3500 B.C. Ironmaking activ-
ity started as early as 3500 B.C. Early leaching/cementation, as a hydrometallurgical contribution to extractive metallurgy, started during 1100–1500 A.D. Electrolytic copper refining was practiced in 1869 A.D., and the Bayer process and precious metal cyanidation were put into practice in 1887 A.D. In recent years, hydrometallurgical processing accounts for more than 90 pct of gold recovery, 80 pct of zinc, and nearly 100 pct of aluminum and uranium production.
The Extraction and Processing Lecturer Award honors an outstanding scientific leader in the field of nonferrous extractive metallurgy with an invitation to present a comprehensive lecture at the TMS Annual Meeting. Kenneth N. Han is the Regents Distinguished Professor and Douglas W. Fuerstenau Professor in the Department of Materials & Metallurgical Engineering at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (SDSM&T). He obtained his B.S. and M.S. degrees from Seoul National University (SNU), an M.S. from the University of Illinois, and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. He was with the Department of Chemical Engineering, Monash University (Melbourne, Australia) from 1971 to 1980. In 1981, he joined SDSM&T. He was head of the Department of Metallurgical Engineering from 1987 to 1994 and dean of the College of Materials Science and Engineering from 1994 to 1999. His research interests include hydrometallurgy, interfacial phenomena, metallurgical kinetics, solution chemistry, fine particle recovery, and electrometallurgy. He has directed over 70 graduate students and postdoctorate researchers, published more than 150 papers in national and international journals, and presented more than 100 papers at international conferences.
He is an author of ten monographs and
Data Loading...
