Ultra fast microwave-assisted leaching for the recovery of copper and tellurium from copper anode slime

The decomposition of copper anode slime heated by microwave energy in a sulfuric acid medium was investigated. Leaching experiments were carried out in a multi-mode cavity with microwave assistance. The leaching process parameters were optimized using response surface methodology（RSM）. Under the optimized conditions, the leaching efficiencies of copper and tellurium were 99.56% ± 0.16% and 98.68% ± 0.12%, respectively. Meanwhile, a conventional leaching experiment was performed in order to evaluate the influence of microwave radiation. The mechanism of microwave-assisted leaching of copper anode slime was also investigated. In the results, the microwave technology is demonstrated to have a great potential to improve the leaching efficiency and reduce the leaching time. The enhanced recoveries of copper and tellurium are believed to result from the presence of a temperature gradient due to the shallow microwave penetration depth and the superheating at the solid-liquid interface.

Kinetics of chemical leaching of chalcopyrite from low grade copper ore: behavior of different size fractions

The kinetics of the chemical leaching of copper from low grade ore in ferric sulfate media was investigated using the constrained least square optimization technique. The experiments were carried out for different particle sizes in both the reactor and column at constant oxidation-reduction potential （Eh）, pH values, and temperature. The main copper mineral was chalcopyrite. About 40% of Cu recovery is obtained after 7 d of reactor leaching at 85℃ using -0.5 mm size fraction, while the same recovery is obtained at 75℃ after 24 d. Also, about 23% of Cu recovery is obtained after 60 d of column leaching for ＋4--8 mm size fraction whereas the Cu recovery is as low as about 15% for ＋8--12.7 and ＋12.7--25 mm size fractions. A 4-stage model for chalcopyrite dissolution was used to explain the observed dissolution behaviors. The results show that thick over-layers of sulphur components cause the parabolic behavior of chalcopyrite dissolution and the precipitation of Fe3＋ plays the main role in chalcopyrite passivation. In the case of coarse particles, transformation from one stage to another takes a longer time, thus only two stages including the initial reaction on fresh surfaces and S0 deposition are observed.

Molybdenum removal from copper ore concentrate by sodium hypochlorite leaching

The removal of molybdenum from a copper ore concentrate by sodium hypochlorite leaching was investigated. The results show that leaching time,liquid to solid ratio,leaching temperature,agitation speed,and sodium hypochlorite and sodium hydroxide concentrations all have a significant effect on the removal of molybdenum.The optimum process operating parameters were found to be：time,4 h;sodium hydroxide concentration,10%;sodium hypochlorite concentration,8%;liquid to solid ratio,10：1;temperature,50℃;and, agitation speed,500 r/min.Under these conditions the extraction of molybdenum is greater than 99,9%and the extraction of copper is less than 0.01%.A shrinking particle model could be used to describe the leaching process.The apparent activation energy of the dissolution reaction was found to be approximately 8.8 kJ/mol.

Ag recovery from copper anode slime by acid leaching at atmospheric pressure to synthesize silver nanoparticles

In this paper, recovery of silver from anode slime of Sarcheshmeh copper complex in lran and subsequent synthesis of silver nanoparticles from leaching solution is investigated. Sarcheshmeh anode slime is mainly consisted ofCu, Ag, Pb and Se. Amount of Ag in the considered anode slime was 5.4% （by weight）. The goal was to recover as much as possible Ag from anode slime at atmospheric pressure to synthesize Ag nanoparticles. Therefore, acid leaching was used for this purpose. The anode slime was leached with sulfuric and nitric acid from room to 90 ~C at different acid concentrations and the run which yielded the most recovery of Ag was selected for Ag nanoparticles synthesis. At this condition, Cu, Pb and Se are lea- ched as well as Ag. To separate Ag from leach solution HCI was added and silver was precipitated as AgCl which were then dissolved by ammonia solution. The Ag nanoparticles are synthesized from this solution by chemical reduction method by aid of sodium borohydride in the presence of PVP and PEG as stabilizers. The synthesized Ag nanoparticles showed a peak of 394 nm in UV-vis spectrum and TEM images showed a rather uniform Ag nanoparticles of 12 nm.

Numerical analysis of aerated heap bioleaching with variable irrigation and aeration combinations

Forced aeration is an effective way to accelerate the heap bioleaching process.To reveal the effects of different irrigation and aeration combinations on bioleaching performance of copper sulfides,numerical simulations with COMSOL were carried out.Results showed the oxygen concentration is the highest at the bottom with forced aeration,the airflow transports spherically from the aeration pipeline to the slope,and the horizontal diffusion distance is further than vertical value.When the irrigation-to-aeration ratio is higher,the average heap temperatures are mainly decided by aeration rates;otherwise,temperature distributions are the equilibrium of mineral reaction heat,the livixiant driven heat and the airflow driven heat.When the aeration rate is higher than 0.90 m3/(m2·h),oxygen concentration is no longer a limiting factor for mineral dissolution.Additionally,on the premise of sufficient oxygen supply,Cu recovery rate is higher at the bottom with low irrigation rate;while it is higher at upper regions with high irrigation rate.The numerical analysis uncovered some insights into the dynamics and thermodynamics rules in bioleaching of copper sulfides with forced aeration.

Scandium recovery from raffinate copper leach solution as potential new source with ion exchange method

Raffinate copper leach solution of the Iran Sarcheshmeh copper complex has up to 3 mg/L scandium(Sc),which is significantly better than many existing sources,making it a possible source for the recovery of Sc using the ion exchange method.Visual Minteq software was employed to ascertain the ionic species likely to be formed under operational conditions in the mine and for selecting the suitable ion exchange resin.The cationic resin thus chosen was employed statically with ions-bearing synthesized solutions and statically/dynamically for actual copper mining raffinate solution.Room temperature and pH of 1.5 showed the highest Sc adsorption.The dynamic tests established the full saturation of the resin at 450 BV of the raffinate solution flow.Using sodium carbonate for elution,desorption of Sc,Y and Ce from the resin during static elution tests at constant duration was higher than that of Fe,Al and Cu.The results from the dynamic tests followed similar trends for the priority and the extent of the elution process.Desorption results from specimens of dynamic tests show a 60:1 concentration ratio leading to a 186 mg/L Sc-rich solution.