MUMBAI, India, Oct. 26 -- Intellectual Property India has published a patent application (202633091665 A) filed by Indian Institute Of Technology Kharagpur on July 28, 2026, for Low-Temperature Alkali-Assisted Thermochemical Process For Material Upgrading And Recovery Of Valuable Components.
Inventors include Borra, Prof. Chenna Rao; Jana, Dr. Prasanta; Sahu, Dr. Sibananda; Kar, Dr. Manish Kumar; Behera, Gautam; and Chandrudu, Gutti Chinna.
The application for the patent was published on October 23, 2026, under issue no. 43/2026.
Abstract: LOW-TEMPERATURE ALKALI-ASSISTED THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESS FOR MATERIAL UPGRADING AND RECOVERY OF VALUABLE COMPONENTS The present invention relates to a low-temperature alkali-assisted thermochemical process (100) for impurity removal, material upgrading, and recovery of valuable components from oxide-containing feed materials. The process comprises mixing (102) a feed material with an alkali comprising one or more alkali metal hydroxides and a controlled amount of water and/or hydrated alkali to form a solid-dominant or semi-solid reaction medium substantially free of a bulk liquid aqueous phase. A hydrated and/or semi-molten alkali phase is thereby generated in situ. The mixture is heated (104) to a temperature below 200°C for 0.5 to 4 hours, whereby the alkali phase coats and wets feed particles, establishes localized high alkalinity, and promotes selective conversion of oxide-containing phases into water-soluble alkali metal compounds. The treated material is subsequently subjected to water leaching (106) to dissolve and separate the water-soluble compounds from a solid residue. The process provides an energy-efficient route for treatment of mineral, carbonaceous, metallurgical, industrial, and secondary resources.
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