我国铜矿微生物浸出技术的研究进展

Progress of research in copper bioleaching technology in China

回顾了我国微生物浸出技术发展的历史进程,总结了我国开展生物浸铜技术的探索与应用进程,介绍了紫金山铜矿、德兴铜矿两个典型的生物浸铜案例;探讨了浸矿细菌分离、鉴定与富集,生物浸出机理与界面反应,浸出体系多级渗流行为,孔隙结构重构与定量化,浸出体系多场耦合与过程模拟,电子废弃物中的铜金属回收领域的主要进展.最后,结合生物浸铜技术的当前进展,阐述了生物浸铜技术面临的环保、安全等方面的挑战与未来发展趋势,为今后该领域的研究提供良好借鉴.

Mineral resources are the mainstay industries supporting the development of the national economy. Due to its excellent ductility,electrical and thermal conductivity,copper is widely used in construction,power,transportation,and manufacturing as an important strategic metal resource. According to statistics,in terms of output and consumption of ten kinds of non-ferrous metals such as copper,aluminum,and zinc,China has ranked first in the world for more than ten consecutive years. China’s copper resources are poorly endowed,being low grade,highly ore-deficient,and of poor ore floatability;the use of conventional separation methods has been costly and caused serious environmental pollution due to difficulties with residue disposal. Bioleaching is a special mining technology that leaches and yields valuable metal elements from inside ores using leaching bacteria. Copper metal resources inside low-grade ores,waste ores,and boundary ores are recycled efficiently using bioleaching technology,which is efficient,and both environmentallyfriendly and economical. Currently,more than a quarter of the world’s copper production depends on this technology. However,the microbial copper leaching process has always been regarded as a'black box',being difficult to effectively monitor and regulate. This paper reviews the history of bioleaching technology in China,reviews those copper mines that have carried out exploration into or application of bioleaching technology,and introduces two typical copper bioleaching industrial cases,the Zijinshan and Dexing Copper Mines. This paper explores( a) the main process of isolation,identification and enrichment of leaching bacteria,( b) the bioleaching mechanism and interface reaction,( c) the multistage seepage behavior of leaching systems,( d) the reconstruction and quantification of pore structures,( e) the multi-field coupling and process simulation of leaching systems,and( f) copper metal recycling from waste printed circuit boards. Finally,along with the current status of copper bioleaching,major challenges such as environmental protection,security,and future trends in copper bioleaching are discussed as a basis for further research.