Sustainable leaching of nickel and cobalt from asbestos waste using deep eutectic solvents: Kinetic modeling and recovery performance
Sharipov R. Dagubayeva A. Maldybayev G. Mohamad Ibrahim M.N. Baigenzhenov O. Mu T.
February 2026Elsevier B.V.
Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances
2026#21
A sustainable hydrometallurgical route was developed for the selective recovery of nickel and cobalt from asbestos production waste using a novel deep eutectic solvent (DES) composed of ethylene glycol and hydroxylamine hydrochloride. Magnetic separation yielded a Ni–Co-enriched fraction with a 10–12-fold increase in target metal content relative to the raw waste, as confirmed by WD-XRF, SEM/EDS, and chemical analysis. Under optimized conditions (80 °C, 4 h, L/S = 4:1), leaching efficiencies of 72.4 % for Ni and 79.6 % for Co were achieved, while co-dissolution of Fe, Mg, and Si remained below 8 %, demonstrating exceptional selectivity. Kinetic analysis revealed a dual-control mechanism: the excellent fit to the Prout–Tompkins model (R2 > 0.99) reflects autocatalytic, ligand-assisted surface reactions driven by Ni2+/Co2+ coordination with DES components, whereas the low activation energies (15.73 kJ/mol for Ni, 13.68 kJ/mol for Co) and strong agreement with the Jander diffusion model indicate that mass transfer through the evolving porous residue governs the overall rate. Critically, 1H NMR spectroscopy of the spent DES shows pronounced signal broadening and attenuation due to paramagnetic Ni2+/Co2+ ions, providing direct, solution-phase evidence of metal - ligand complexation - a key advancement over indirect FTIR data alone. Complementary SEM and XRD analyses confirm selective phase dissolution without bulk matrix degradation. These results establish the DES as an environmentally benign, ligand-functionalized leaching medium that enables the valorization of hazardous asbestos waste into a secondary source of critical metals, aligning with green and circular hydrometallurgical principles.
Asbestos wastes , Deep eutectic solvents (DES) , Kinetic modeling , Nickel and cobalt leaching , Recycling
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School of Materials Science and Green Technologies, Kazakh-British Technical University, 59 Tole bi St, Almaty, 050000, Kazakhstan
RSE National Center on Complex Processing of Mineral Raw Materials of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Almaty, 050036, Kazakhstan
Materials Technology Research Group (MaTReC), School of Chemical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Minden, 11800, Malaysia
Department of Metallurgy and Mineral Processing, Satbayev university, Almaty, 050013, Kazakhstan
School of Chemistry and Life Resources, Renmin University of China, Beijing, 100872, China
Department of Metallurgy and Mineral Processing, Satbayev university, Almaty, 050013, Kazakhstan
School of Materials Science and Green Technologies
RSE National Center on Complex Processing of Mineral Raw Materials of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Materials Technology Research Group (MaTReC)
Department of Metallurgy and Mineral Processing
School of Chemistry and Life Resources
Department of Metallurgy and Mineral Processing
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