In the field of strategic metal resource recycling, rhenium, as a scarce refractory metal, has significant strategic value and economic importance due to its efficient separation and recovery. Facing the challenge of extracting rhenium from low-concentration solutions (such as 200 mg/L), traditional processes often suffer from low recovery rates, high reagent consumption, and unstable separation results. Zhengzhou Tiei Extraction, based on its CWL series centrifugal extractor and an optimized extraction system (such as 30% N235), has developed a multi-stage countercurrent extraction process, providing an efficient, stable, and economical solution for the deep extraction and resource utilization of rhenium-containing solutions.
Rhenium ions (such as perrhenate ReO₄⁻) in rhenium-containing solutions can be selectively complexed and extracted using the amine extractant N235. At an optimized concentration of 30%, N235 exhibits high selectivity for rhenium along with a strong loading capacity. The three-stage counter-current centrifugal extraction process intensifies mass transfer through multiple stages, effectively overcoming the limitation of insufficient mass-transfer driving force in low-concentration systems and enabling deep transfer of rhenium ions from the aqueous phase to the organic phase. Designed to meet a processing capacity of 10 m³ per day, this process achieves continuous, stable, and highly efficient operation within a compact equipment layout.
The CWL series centrifugal extractor demonstrates significant technical advantages in rhenium extraction processes. The equipment utilizes a powerful centrifugal force field generated by high-speed rotation to ensure thorough mixing and contact between the aqueous phase and the N235-containing organic phase at the micron scale, significantly improving mass transfer efficiency, with a single-stage contact time of only a few seconds. In the subsequent separation zone, the two phases are rapidly and clearly separated in milliseconds under the action of centrifugal force, effectively avoiding problems such as emulsification and entrainment that may occur in traditional mixer settler, thus ensuring the recycling rate of the extractant and the purity of the organic phase.
After three-stage countercurrent extraction, the rhenium extraction rate can stably reach over 99.5%, and the rhenium concentration in the raffinate can be reduced to below 1 mg/L, achieving efficient enrichment of this rare metal. The loaded organic phase, after subsequent stripping and refining processes, yields high-purity rhenium products. Compared to traditional box-type extraction or batch reactor processes, this continuous centrifugal extraction scheme features a high degree of automation, a small footprint, low organic solvent volatilization loss, and significant cost savings, making it particularly suitable for the industrial recovery of rhenium from medium-to-low concentration, high flow rate rhenium-containing solutions.
We provide comprehensive technical support for rhenium-containing material extraction projects, from process development and pilot-scale testing to industrial application. Clients can provide material samples, and our technical team will conduct systematic solvent screening, process parameter optimization, and continuous operation verification to ensure the reliability and economic viability of the process.
Email: sales@tieiextraction.com
Whatsapp: +86 19069612820
