Method for chemically reducing metals in waste compositions
US5324341A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | May 5, 1992 |
| Grant date | Jun 28, 1994 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 5, 2012 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10S423/12
- WIPO fieldMachine tools
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
An environmentally sound process is described for the remediation of waste materials and oxides of metals that allows the separation, recovery and decontamination of metals. The method includes chemically reducing essentially all of a reducible toxic and potentially hazardous metal oxide of a metal-containing composition. A metal-containing composition is directed into a molten bath, including a first reducing agent which, under the operating conditions of the molten bath, chemically reduces a first metal oxide of a metal in the metal-containing composition to form a bath-soluble transient second metal oxide. A second reducing agent is directed into the molten bath. The second reducing agent, under the operations of the molten-bath, chemically reduces the second metal oxide, provided that the second reducing agent has a Gibbs free energy lower than that of the second metal oxide. The rate at which the second reducing agent is directed into the molten bath, relative to the rate at which the metal-oxide of the metal-containing composition is directed into the molten-bath, is sufficient to cause essentially all subsequently formed second metal oxide to dissolve in the molten bath, the…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.