Preliminary evaluation of electrowinning for nickel scrap processing

Purification of the 70,000 to 245,000 tons of diffusion plant nickel scrap permit its use in a variety of DOE and, with establishment of de minimus standards, foreign and domestic industrial applications. Nickel recycle would also substantially decrease DOE legacy wastes. This report presents data on electrolytes and separations which could be used in electrolytic purification of radiologically contaminated nickel scrap from first generation diffusion plants. Potentiometric scans and plating tests indicate that both industrial electrolytes, buffered nickel sulfate-sodium chloride and nickel chloride, provide good current densities. Electrolytes which contain ammonium thiocyanate or ammonium chloride also perform well. Nickel does not plate appreciably from nitrate solutions because the nitrate was preferentially reduced to nitrite. Solvent extractions of cobalt, a common contaminant in commercial nickel, and pertechnate, a radiological contaminant expected in DOE nickel scrap, are also successful