Activity coefficient of NiO in SiO₂-saturated MnO-SiO₂ slag and Al₂O₃-saturated MnO-SiO₂-Al₂O₃ slag at 1623 K

Abstract

As a part of the fundamental study related to the reduction smelting of spent lithium-ion batteries and ocean polymetallic nodules based on MnO-SiO₂ slags, this work investigated the activity coefficient of NiO in SiO₂-saturated MnO-SiO₂ slag and Al₂O₃-saturated MnO-SiO₂-Al₂O₃ slag at 1623 K with controlled oxygen partial pressure levels of 10⁻⁷, 10⁻⁶, and 10⁻⁵ Pa. Results showed that the solubility of nickel oxide in the slags increased with increasing oxygen partial pressure. The nickel in the MnO-SiO₂ slag and MnO-SiO₂-Al₂O₃ slag existed as NiO under experimental conditions. The addition of Al₂O₃ in the MnO-SiO₂ slag decreased the dissolution of nickel in the slag and increased the activity coefficient of NiO. Furthermore, the activity coefficient of NiO (γ _NiO), which is solid NiO, in the SiO₂ saturated MnO-SiO₂ slag and Al₂O₃ saturated MnO-SiO₂-Al₂O₃ slag at 1623 K can be respectively calculated as γ _NiO = 8.58w(NiO) + 3.18 and γ _NiO = 11.06w(NiO) + 4.07, respectively, where w(NiO) is the NiO mass fraction in the slag.

Keywords

nickel / equilibrium / MnO-SiO₂ slag / MnO-SiO₂-Al₂O₃ slag / activity coefficient / spent lithium-ion batteries recovery / polymetallic nodules

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