pH measurements in high-temperature hydrometallurgical systems

V. G. Papangelakis, D. S. Seneviratne, Z. Jankovic, X. Y. Zhou, Serguei Lvov

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaperpeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

The implementation of a flow-through yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) sensor for pH measurements in high temperature and concentrated electrolyte systems relevant to hydrometallurgical processing of nickeliferous laterites is discussed. Instrumentation involved the use of a custom made flow-through titanium electrochemical cell. Accuracy and validity of the pH measurements at temperatures up to 250°C were assessed using concentrated sulphate process solutions ranging from synthetic binary sulphuric acid water solutions to progressively multicomponent metal - sulphate solutions simulating laterite Pressure Acid Leach conditions. The measurements were also compared with theoretical models using recently obtained thermodynamic data. A difference of ±0.25 pH units was observed between measured and calculated pH values at temperatures. This is an acceptable difference given that these are the first direct high temperature pH measurements ever on the concentrated acidic sulphate solutions. This result is encouraging more research for the development of industrial electrochemical systems for direct pH measurements in autoclaves.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages645-656
Number of pages12
StatePublished - Dec 1 2003
EventHydrometallurgy 2003: Proceedings of the 5th International Symposium - Vancouver, BC, Canada
Duration: Aug 24 2003Aug 27 2003

Other

OtherHydrometallurgy 2003: Proceedings of the 5th International Symposium
Country/TerritoryCanada
CityVancouver, BC
Period8/24/038/27/03

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Filtration and Separation

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