Kinetics of nickel leaching from roasting-dissolving residue of spent catalyst with sulfuric acid

Sulfuric acid leaching process was applied to extract nickel from roasting-dissolving residue of a spent catalyst, the effect of different parameters on nickel extraction was investigated by leaching experiments, and the leaching kinetics of nickel was analyzed. The experimental results indicate that the effects of particle size and sulfuric acid concentration on the nickel extraction are remarkable; the effect of reaction temperature is mild; while the effect of stirring speed in the range of 400–1 200 r/min is negligible. Decreasing particle size or increasing sulfuric acid concentration and reaction temperature, the nickel extraction efficiency is improved. 93.5% of nickel in residue is extracted under suitable leaching conditions, including particle size (0.074–0.100) mm, sulfuric acid concentration 30% (mass fraction), temperature 80 °C, reaction time 180 min, mass ratio of liquid to solid 10 and stirring speed 800 r/min. The leaching kinetics analyses shows that the reaction rate of leaching process is controlled by diffusion through the product layer, and the calculated activation energy of 15.8 kJ/mol is characteristic for a diffusion controlled process. Foundation item: Project (50574101) supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China; Project (2003UDBEA00C020) supported by the Collaborative Project of School and Province of Yunnan Province, China