SisClever: Pure and Concentrated Products From Multicomponent Mixtures – Applied to Urban Mining

AbstractThe SisClever Process facilitates the simultaneous separation of multicomponent systems, achieving high concentrations and purities of individual products. A notable application is the hydrometallurgical separation of metals using cation‐exchange extractants, where the pH is systematically varied along the counter‐current process. The process is modeled based on phase equilibria and validated through experiments separating Zn2+ and Co2+. The efficiency of the process is demonstrated for the separation of a complex mixture of rare‐earth metals, where only roughly a third of equilibrium stages is required compared to an optimized proposal from literature. Possible applications in recycling, generalization to other unit operations, as well as limitations are discussed.