| abstract |
A method of recovering contaminating or valuable components from a solid feed material ( 10 ), includes feeding the material ( 10 ) into an optional grinder as a pretreatment ( 12 ), then into a heated melter ( 14 ) along with a material ( 16 ) that provides fluorine, to provide a molten or semi-molten material, where the molten material is then reacted with water or an acid solution ( 22 ) in vessel ( 20 ), to form a dissolved molten or semi-molten salt in solution, which can be passed to extractor ( 26 ) or the like and provide a concentrated stream of the valuable or contaminating components ( 30 ). |