Vale Base Metals operation in Long Harbour Newfoundland produces high-quality nickel, cobalt, and copper products that have direct applications in the global energy transition. Maintaining and increasing the output of these metals is crucial to meet the demand for this worldwide transition. The production of metals is based on the chloride-assisted pressure oxidation step, which is fully integrated into downstream unit processes where waste solids are separated from the process solution and impurities are removed. Operating the pressure oxidation step at high availability is important to the overall plant operation. Process equipment scaling on the discharge of the autoclaves has been an ongoing challenge. Steps to reduce scaling through several plant trials and an assessment of the mechanism of scaling have led to a possible solution to reduce the amount of downtime required to bring scaled process lines back online. In collaboration with Vale Base Metal’s technology group, a solution to further cool the autoclave discharge to <95 °C was tested and proven to be effective in reducing the incidence of scaling. This chapter will review the outcomes of plant trials and the successful implementation of a cooling methodology, with steps to provide a more effective engineered solution.

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Nickel Production at Vale’s Long Harbour Operations: Impacts of Sulphur Scaling on Pressure Oxidation Circuits

  • Mike Reid,
  • Tyler Evans,
  • Stephen Slade,
  • Paul Gover,
  • James Bumstead,
  • Ramanpal Saini

摘要

Vale Base Metals operation in Long Harbour Newfoundland produces high-quality nickel, cobalt, and copper products that have direct applications in the global energy transition. Maintaining and increasing the output of these metals is crucial to meet the demand for this worldwide transition. The production of metals is based on the chloride-assisted pressure oxidation step, which is fully integrated into downstream unit processes where waste solids are separated from the process solution and impurities are removed. Operating the pressure oxidation step at high availability is important to the overall plant operation. Process equipment scaling on the discharge of the autoclaves has been an ongoing challenge. Steps to reduce scaling through several plant trials and an assessment of the mechanism of scaling have led to a possible solution to reduce the amount of downtime required to bring scaled process lines back online. In collaboration with Vale Base Metal’s technology group, a solution to further cool the autoclave discharge to <95 °C was tested and proven to be effective in reducing the incidence of scaling. This chapter will review the outcomes of plant trials and the successful implementation of a cooling methodology, with steps to provide a more effective engineered solution.