Metso has expanded its solvent extraction offering with a wider capacity range and improved features, and is now also introducing the VSF® X solvent extraction plant with extended scope.
The modular VSF X plant, part of Metso’s Planet Positive offering, allows copper, cobalt, nickel and manganese producers, among others, to purify desired metals from the leach solution in a safe and sustainable manner. The VSF X technology can also be used in battery black mass recycling processes.
Olli Siltala, Product Manager for the VSF X solvent extraction plants at Metso, said: “Solvent extraction is a crucial step in the production of essential battery metals and is gaining wider ground in hydrometallurgy applications. This is driven by the growing demand for higher purity metals and the increasing use of minerals to empower the energy transition. Our customers are seeking reliable and environmentally sound production processes with lower plant life cycle costs. Metso’s VSF X solvent extraction technology meets these needs and enables an efficient and economical solvent extraction process step for various orebodies and recycled battery black mass.”
Siltala added: “Metso is an expert one-stop shop for solvent extraction technology. We can provide customers with a tailormade production process based on professional testing and piloting. The modularised plant offers excellent scalability and high quality with fluent logistics and fast-track delivery. The integrated plant consists of Metso’s highly productised proprietary equipment, like the VSF X mixer-settler, VSF X organic and crud treatment unit; Dual Media, Activated Carbon and GM filters, as well as new digital products such as DispersionSense™ and OA Sense™ topped up with process guarantees. We can also provide a broad range of services along with digital solutions to ensure optimised lifecycle performance of the plants.”
Metso has been developing solvent extraction technologies and delivering both equipment and processes for several decades. VSF solvent extraction technology is used in the largest copper solvent extraction facilities across the globe, according to the company. It has over 50 operational references for the VSF solvent extraction plants and 10 for the modular VSF X plants.
