Grant: Applied Research and Development Grants - Level 1

The objective of this project is to design a process for the production of specialty nickel powders at a smallscale through modifying and simplifying a nickel carbonyl refining process. The scale considered is labdemonstration scale with a production rate in the range of approximately 1 kg/h. The novel process proposed inthis application is largely self-contained, hence it will not create polluting waste products. Moreover, theprocess to be investigated aims to aid in effectively converting waste nickel from various industrial processes(such as electro-plating) to value-added specialty powders for energy storage (e.g., laptop batteries) andrenewable energy (e.g., solar panels) applications.Nickel carbonyl refining, an approved process by the environmental monitoring branches of the governmentsof Ontario and Canada, is used commercially by Vale (Sudbury, ON) on a very large scale to refine nickel frommining concentrates. The specific goal of this project is to design and control a process to yield specialtypowders that are not available commercially, yet are requested by end users in the renewable energy andelectronics industries. Based on the experience, the industry collaborator Cobric Chemicals Inc. and SheridanCollege believe that carbonyl technology is capable of making these products.A team of faculty experts and student researchers led by Dr. Amin Ghobeity at Sheridan's Centre for AdvancedManufacturing and Design Technologies in Brampton, ON will conduct the research in close collaborationwith the industry partner. The goal of the research is to: design the optimal process flow diagram; complete theenergy and mass balance; and address several design uncertainties associated with a demonstration scale plantthat could be scaled to a commercially-viable business.