Amino acids and glycine in hydrometallurgy: Potential, applications and limitations in primary and secondary resources
jeudi 22 mai 2025 à 13h30
The use of amino acids, and glycine in particular, in abiotic environments has gained significant momentum over the past 1 years. It is particularly under alkaline environments (pH>9) that is has shown the most promise. Amino acids are very versatile due to the occurrence of the amino and carboxylic and alkyl functional groups that can play very selective roles in the complexing of metal ions. The presentation will discuss the use of amino acids, with a focus on glycine as the simplest amino acid, under various oxidative and pH conditions in the extraction of base metals, such as copper, nickel, cobalt, zinc, etc., and precious metals such as gold, silver and palladium from primary resources such as mineral ores and concentrates, and secondary materials such as tailings, slags, and electronic waste. Further to the leaching, the presentation will also deal with recovery of metals from solution through solvent extraction, ion exchange, precipitation and carbon adsorption, and solution upgrading and recycling. The emphasis will be on the utilisation of this lixiviant system within a circular hydrometallurgy context. Finally, the presentation will cover aspects such as innovation and commercialisation of the technology and industry partnerships.
