US-12623161-B2 - Methods and systems for separating metals

US12623161B2US 12623161 B2US12623161 B2US 12623161B2US-12623161-B2

Abstract

Methods and systems for separating a first metal and an impurity from a metal-containing feed stream are provided. The method can include applying solar energy, for example, by focusing one or more mirrors in one or more heliostats, to heat a metal-containing feed stream in a heating zone to a first temperature to produce a first vapor including the first metal. The first vapor can be condensed in a condensation zone to produce a first liquid including the first metal, and the first liquid can be collected. The system can include a separation unit include a heating zone in fluid communication with a condensation zone and a means for applying solar energy to heat a metal-containing feed stream disposed in the heating zone.

Inventors

Patrick Soon-Shiong

Assignees

NANT HOLDINGS IP, LLC

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20251024

Claims (19)

1 . A method for separating an impurity from a metal-containing feed stream comprising a first metal and the impurity, the method comprising: (i) recovering the first metal by: applying solar energy using one or more heliostats to heat the metal-containing feed stream in a heating zone to a first temperature thereby producing a first vapor comprising the first metal, wherein the impurity does not substantially vaporize at the first temperature and the impurity remains in the metal-containing feed stream; condensing the first vapor in a condensation zone at a second temperature to produce a first liquid comprising the first metal; and collecting the first liquid comprising the first metal; and (ii) recovering the impurity remaining in the metal-containing feed stream by: applying solar energy using the one or more heliostats to heat the metal-containing feed stream comprising the impurity in the heating zone to produce a second vapor comprising the impurity; and condensing the second vapor to produce a second liquid comprising the impurity.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the metal-containing feed stream is derived from black sands, a metal mining stream, or a waste stream.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the impurity has a higher boiling point than the first metal.
4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the heating zone is maintained at a pressure less than or equal to about 100,000 Pa during heating of the metal-containing feed stream.
5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more heliostats comprise mirrors arranged to reflect sunlight to at least one focal vertex, and wherein the heating zone is disposed in proximity to the at least one focal vertex.
6 . The method of claim 5 , wherein the focal vertex is disposed at least about 25 meters above the mirrors.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first metal is selected from the group consisting of platinum and palladium, and wherein the impurity is a non-metal impurity.
8 . The method of claim 7 , wherein the non-metal impurity comprises carbon, hydrogen, an oxide, a carbide, or a combination thereof.
9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first temperature is greater than or equal to about 2,000° C. and less than or equal to about 4,000° C.
10 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising solidifying at least one of the first liquid and the second liquid via cooling.
11 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the metal-containing feed stream further comprises a second metal and the method further comprises recovering the second metal from the metal-containing feed stream, wherein second metal is selected from the group consisting of an alkali metal, an alkaline earth metal, and a basic metal.
12 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the one or more heliostats are arranged in an array or tower configuration.
13 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising maintaining the metal-containing feed stream in a liquid state using solar energy.
14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the metal-containing feed stream is in a form selected from the group consisting of a liquid state, a molten state, a powder, granules, and briquettes.
15 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising using wireless power routing to supplement the solar energy during non-peak solar conditions.
16 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the condensation zone comprises a cooled surface configured to form the first and second liquids.
17 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the second temperature is maintained between the melting point and boiling point of the first metal.
18 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the condensation zone is maintained at a second pressure different from a first pressure in the heating zone.
19 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the metal-containing feed stream flows over a heated surface in the heating zone.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This patent application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 19/244,135 filed on 20 Jun. 2025, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 19/040,022 filed on 29 Jan. 2025, now U.S. Pat. No. 12,377,365, issued on 5 Aug. 2025, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/371,846 filed on 22 Sep. 2023, now U.S. Pat. No. 12,257,528, issued on 25 Mar. 2025, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/134,803 filed on 14 Apr. 2023, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,839,832, issued on 12 Dec. 2023, which is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/570,986 filed on 7 Jan. 2022, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,697,077, issued on 11 Jul. 2023, which is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/185,338 filed on 25 Feb. 2021, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,260,315, issued 1 Mar. 2022, which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/985,009 filed on 4 Mar. 2020. The entire disclosures of each of the above recited applications are incorporated herein by reference. FIELD Methods and systems are provided herein for separating metals from a metal-containing feed stream using solar energy, for example, using one or more heliostat. BACKGROUND The background description includes information that may be useful in understanding the systems and methods described herein. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art. Metals extracted from the earth traditionally require further refining to remove impurities to arrive at high purity metals, which can be used in various industrial applications. Metals can also be present in various waste streams, such as mining waste streams and industrial waste streams. Thus, the recovery of metals from such waste streams is desirable so the recovered metals can be used in other applications. One method for separation and/or purification of metals is a distillation process. Distillation of metals involves heating a metal-containing stream to a temperature suitable to vaporize the metal to be separated followed by condensing the vaporized metal in order to recover the metal. During distillation, impurities, such as lower volatility metals, can remain in the metal-containing stream. U.S. Pat. No. 2,239,371 reports a method and apparatus for separation of metals by distillation, particularly, separation of lead, arsenic, antimony, bismuth, and tin. U.S. Pat. No. 2,607,675 reports a method for distillation of metals, particularly separation of non-volatile metals. A significant amount of energy can be required to heat a metal-containing feed during distillation to vaporize a metal and more energy can be required if the metal to be separated has a higher heat of evaporation and a lower vapor pressure. The energy needed during distillation can be generated by combusting fossil fuels, for example, burning coal to produce electricity. This combustion of fossil fuels can emit a substantial amount of CO2. Therefore, improved processes for distilling metals are needed which require less energy and emit less CO2. SUMMARY This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features. The present disclosure relates to methods for separating an impurity from a metal-containing feed stream comprising a first metal and the impurity. The method includes recovering the first metal by applying solar energy using one or more heliostats to heat the metal-containing feed stream in a heating zone to a first temperature thereby producing a first vapor including the first metal, wherein the impurity does not substantially vaporize at the first temperature and the impurity remains in the metal-containing feed stream, condensing the first vapor in a condensation zone at a second temperature to produce a first liquid comprising the first metal, and collecting the first liquid comprising the first metal. The method further includes recovering the impurity remaining in the metal-containing feed stream by applying solar energy using the one or more heliostats to heat the metal-containing feed stream comprising the impurity in the heating zone to produce a second vapor comprising the impurity and condensing the second vapor to produce a second liquid comprising the impurity. In various aspects, the present disclosure also provides methods and systems for separating metals from a metal-containing feed stream. In various aspects, the present disclosure provides a method for separating a first metal from a metal-containing feed stream. The method includes applying solar energy to heat the metal-containing feed stream in a heating zone to a first temperature to produce a first vapor including the first metal. The method further includes condensing the first vapor in a condensation zone to produce a first liquid including the first