Leaching kinetics of selenium from copper anode slimes by nitric acid-sulfuric acid mixture

The leaching kinetics of selenium from copper anode slimes was studied in a nitric acid?sulfuric acid mixture.The effects of main parameters on selenium leaching showed that the leaching rate of selenium was practically independent of stirring speed,while dependent on temperature and the concentrations of HNO3and H2SO4.The leaching of selenium includes two stages.The activation energy in the first stage is103.5kJ/mol,and the chemical reaction is the rate controlling step.It was almost independent of H2SO4concentration and dependent on HNO3concentration since the empirical reaction order with respect to HNO3concentration is0.5613.In the second stage,the activation energy is30.6kJ/mol,and the process is controlled by a mixture of diffusion and chemical reaction.The leaching of selenium was almost independent of HNO3concentration.

Biooxidation-thiosulfate leaching of refractory gold concentrate

A process of biooxidation followed by thiosulfate leaching of gold from refractory gold concentrate was investigated.Mineralogical studies on the concentrate showed that very fine gold grains(<10μm)were encapsulated in pyrite and arsenopyrite,while the proportion of monomer gold was only 21%.The gold-bearing sample was identified as a high-sulfur fine-sized wrapped-type refractory gold concentrate.The gold leaching efficiency obtained by direct cyanidation was only 59.86%.After biooxidation pretreatment,the sulfide minerals were almost completely decomposed,92 wt%of the mineral particles of the biooxidation residue were decreased to<38μm,and the proportion of monomer gold in the biooxidation residue was over 86%.Meanwhile,the gold content in the biooxidation residue was enriched to 55.60 g/t,and the S,Fe,and As contents were reduced to approximately 19.8 wt%,6.97 wt%,and 0.13 wt%,respectively.Ammoniacal thiosulfate was used for gold extraction from the biooxidation residue of the refractory gold concentrate.The results showed that the optimal reagent conditions were 0.18 M thiosulfate,0.02 M copper(II),1.0 M ammonia,and 0.24 M sulfite.Under these conditions,a maximum gold leaching efficiency of 85.05%was obtained.

Effect of temperature on leaching behavior of copper minerals with different occurrence states in complex copper oxide ores

The effect of temperature on leaching behavior of copper minerals with different occurrence states in complex copper oxide ores was carried out by phase analysis means of XRD, optical microscopy and SEM-EDS. The results indicated that at ambient temperature, the easily leached copper oxide minerals were completely dissolved, while the bonded copper minerals were insoluble. At lukewarm temperature of 40℃, it was mainly the dissolution of copper in isomorphism state. With increasing temperature to 60℃, the copper leaching rate in the adsorbed state was significantly accelerated. In addition, when the temperature increased to 80℃, the isomorphic copper was completely leached, leaving 11.2% adsorbed copper un-leached. However, the copper in feldspar-quartz-copper-iron colloid state was not dissolved throughout the leaching process. Overall, the leaching rates of copper in different copper minerals decreased in the order: malachite, pseudo-malachite > chrysocolla > copper-bearing chlorite > copper-bearing muscovite > copper-bearing biotite > copper-bearing limonite > feldspar-quartz-copper-iron colloid.

Study on the mechanical activation of malachite and the leaching of complex copper ore in the Luanshya mining area, Zambia

Mechanical activation(MA) of malachite was carried out by dry planetary grinding(DPG) and wet Isa grinding(WIG) methods. When the rotational speed was increased to 400 r/min in DPG, the specific surface area of malachite reached the maximum and the particle size reached the minimum of 0.7–100 μm. Agglomeration occurred between mineral particles when the rotational speed was increased to 580 r/min in DPG.However, no agglomeration was observed among particles with sizes 0.4–3 μm in WIG. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that, at a 580 r/min rotational speed in DPG, the amorphization degree of malachite was 53.12%, whereas that in WIG was 71.40%, indicating that MA led to amorphization and distortion of crystal structures. In addition, in the Fourier transform infrared(FT-IR) spectra of activated malachite, the bands associated with –OH, CO_3^(2-)and metal lattice vibrations of Cu–O and Cu–OH were weakened, and a new H–O–H bending mode and peaks of gaseous CO_2 appeared, indicating that MA decreased the band energy, enhanced dihydroxylation, and increased the chemical reactivity of the malachite.Furthermore, the leaching behavior of copper ore was greatly improved by MA.

Cyanide removal for ultrafine gold cyanide residues by chemical oxidation methods

Because of the highly toxic cyanide in the gold cyanide residues,cyanide must be removed for environmental protection.The process mineralogy of residues was studied firstly,and then cyanide removal was carried out by three chemical methods.The results showed that the residue mainly contained Si,S and Fe.Pyrite was the main metallic mineral,and the iron-complex cyanides make cyanide removal difficult.The minerals in residues were in ultrafine particle size with high monomer dissociation degrees.In H_(2)O_(2)oxidation process,the self-decomposition and side reactions resulted in high consumption of H_(2)O_(2).In Na_(2)S_(2)O_(5)-air oxidation process,the time for complete process was long because of the reactions between Na_(2)S_(2)O_(5)and O_(2).Na_(2)SO_(3)oxidation method was found to be a new method for cyanide removal without air inflation device.The cyanide content was reduced to the national standard level in 90 min at pH 9.0 with optimum Na_(2)SO_(3)dose of 2.0 g/L.

Bio-dissolution of pyrite by Phanerochaete chrysosporium

The dissolution of pyrite was studied with Phanerochaete chrysosporium(P.chrysosporium).This fungus resulted in the dissolution of 18%iron and 33%sulfur.The oxidization layer was formed on the pyrite surface,which probably consisted of iron oxide,iron oxy-hydroxide,iron sulfate,elemental sulfur and mycelia.The electrochemical characteristics of pyrite were studied in the systems without and with P.chrysosporium.P.chrysosporium could accelerate the dissolution of pyrite by decreasing pitting potential and polarization resistance plus improving polarization current,corrosion potential and corrosion current density.The dissolution of pyrite is the combined effect of enzymes,hydrogen peroxide,ferric iron and organic acids.Enzymes attack the chemical bonds by free radicals.Organic acids dissolve pyrite by acidolysis and complexolysis.Enzymes and hydrogen peroxide play an essential role in this process.

Effect of the CaO/SiO2 mass ratio and FeO content on the viscosity of CaO–SiO2–“FeO”–12wt%ZnO–3wt%Al2O3 slags

An effective process for recycling lead from hazardous waste cathode ray tubes（CRTs） funnel glass through traditional lead smelting has been presented previously. The viscous behavior of the molten high lead slag, which is affected by the addition of funnel glass, plays a critical role in determining the production efficiency. Therefore, the viscosities of the CaO–SiO_2–＂FeO＂–12wt%ZnO–3wt%Al_2O_3 slags were measured in the current study using the rotating spindle method. The slag viscosity decreases as the CaO/SiO_2 mass ratio is increased from 0.8 to 1.2 and also as the FeO content is increased from 8wt% to 20wt%. The breaking temperature of the slag is lowered substantially by the addition of FeO, whereas the influence of the CaO/SiO_2 mass ratio on the breaking temperature is complex. The structural analysis of quenched slags using Fourier transform infrared（FTIR） spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy reveals that the silicate network structure is depolymerized with increasing CaO/SiO_2 mass ratio or increasing FeO content. The [FeO_6]-octahedra in the slag melt increase as the CaO/SiO_2 mass ratio or the FeO content increases. This increase can further decrease the degree of polymerization（DOP） of the slag. Furthermore, the activation energy for viscous flow decreases both with increasing CaO/SiO_2 mass ratio and increasing FeO content.

Intensified bioleaching of low-grade molybdenite concentrate by ferrous sulfate and pyrite

Intensifying effects of ferrous sulfate and pyrite on bioleaching of low-grade molybdenite concentrate were studied in this paper. The experimental results show that the oxidation dissolution of molybdenite can be accelerated with the addition of either ferrous sulfate or pyrite in bi- oleaching medium. Pyrite has better enhancing effect than ferrous sulfate, and the highest molybdenum leaching rate in pyrite-added solutions is 20.85 %, increasing by 12.64 % compared with that in 9 K leaching system. Molybdenum leaching rate does not increase linearly with the increase of the addition of either ferrous sulfate or pyrite in each type solution. Great amounts of [NH4Fe3（SO4）2（OH）6] and [KFe3（SO4）2（OH）6] with different morphologies will be deposited on molybdenite ores when the additions of Fe from ferrous sulfate or pyrite exceed that from 9 K leaching system by 0.5 times, and these deposits hinder the oxidation dissolution of molybdenite to some extent.