Oxidative Dissolution of Nickel Metal in Hydrogenated Hydrothermal Solutions

A platinum-lined, flowing autoclave facility is used to investigate the solubility behavior of metallic nickel in hydrogenated ammonia and sodium hydroxide solutions between 175 and 315 C. The solubility measurements were interpreted by means of an oxidative dissolution reaction followed by a sequence of Ni(II) ion hydrolysis reactions: Ni(s) + 2H+(aq) = Ni2+(aq) + H2(g) and Ni{sup 2+}(aq) + nH{sub 2}O = Ni(OH){sub n}{sup 2-n}(aq) + nH{sup +}(aq) where n = 1 and 2. Gibbs energies associated with these reaction equilibria were determined from a least-squares analysis of the data. The extracted thermochemical properties ({Delta}fG{sup 0}, {Delta}fH{sup 0} and S{sup 0}) for Ni2{sup +}(aq), Ni(OH){sup +}(aq) and Ni(OH){sub 2}(aq) were found to be consistent with those determined in a previous solubility study of NiO/Ni(OH){sub 2} conducted in our laboratory. The thermodynamic basis of the Ni/NiO phase boundary in aqueous solutions is examined to show that Ni(s) is stable relative to NiO(s) in solutions saturated at 25 C with 1 atm H{sub 2} for temperatures below 309 C