SYNTHESIZED NICKEL SULFATE FROM MIXED HYDROXIDE PRECIPITATE

• Main Author: Nyoman Anugrah Dewata A. P., I
• Format: Final Project
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/81988
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

The increasing production and use of electric vehicles worldwide, including in Indonesia, has led to a higher demand for nickel sulfate as a raw material for lithium cathodes in electric vehicle batteries. With the world's largest nickel reserves, Indonesia emphasizes its commitment to the downstream nickel industry. Currently, in Indonesia, the production of mixed hydroxide precipitate (MHP) and nickel alloys is still insignificant, and the pure nickel and battery industries have not yet been developed. The production process of nickel sulfate from MHP consists of three main stages: (1) releaching with sulfuric acid, (2) solvent extraction (SX), and (3) crystallization. This study aims to investigate the optimum conditions for purifying MHP into nickel sulfate. The sample used in this study was artificially made pregnant leach solution (PLS) prepared based on the concentration of PLS obtained from the releaching of MHP in previous research. SX is carried out in two general stages with the objectives of (1) separating magnesium impurities and (2) separating nickel and cobalt ions. The organic solutions used for the first and second SX stages are Versatic 10 and Cyanex 272, respectively. The solution from extraction process will be analyzed using Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) to determine compositional changes at each stage of the process. The research results show that the SX 1 stage can separate nickel and cobalt from magnesium using Versatic 10 at temperature = 40°C, organic/aqueous (O/A) ratio of 0.75, %extractant = 25%, and pH = 7.0. The resulting separation factors (?) were ?Ni-Mg = 208.75 and ?Co-Mg = 123.19. Meanwhile, the SX 2 stage using Cyanex 272 successfully separated nickel and cobalt ions at temperature = 40°C; O/A = 0.5; %extractant = 10%; and pH = 5.5. The resulting extraction percentages for nickel and cobalt were 3.1% and 100%, respectively.