Intensified Bioleaching of Copper from Chalcopyrite: Decoupling and Optimization of the Chemical Stage

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 Biotechnology Research Center, Faculty of Chemical Engineering, Sahand University of Technology, P.O. Box 51335-1996 Tabriz, I.R. IRAN

2 Mining Engineering Faculty, Sahand University of Technology, P.O. Box 51335-1996 Tabriz, I.R. IRAN

3 Biobased Monomers and Polymers Division, Iran Polymer and Petrochemical Institute (IPPI), P.O. Box 14975-115 Tehran, I.R. IRAN

Abstract

A one-stage process for the bioleaching of copper from chalcopyrite has a low leaching rate compared to the conventional smelting, pressure oxidation, and roasting routes, thus reducing the economic viability of the process. It is, therefore, crucial to optimize the process and the associated rate-influencing factors to make it competitive with the traditional, proven technologies. A strategy to intensify the extraction process is the decoupling of the chemical and biological stages, which expands the attainable region for the optimization of the variables. In the present research,
the decoupled optimization of the chemical stage in the copper bioleaching of a chalcopyrite ore from the Iranian Sungun mine at East Azerbaijan was investigated. The factors affecting the rate of oxidation of chalcopyrite were determined and optimized with a (realistic) priori prepared bio-related medium. The optimized variables included the reaction temperature of 70 °C, the ore particle size of 0.65 μm, pH of 1.8 in the leaching solution, ferric ion concentration of 0.1 of the stoichiometric value (0.0022 mol per gram of chalcopyrite), and redox potential ~406 mV. Overall, the effect of redox potential on the extraction rate was the most pronounced such that the leaching rate was increased by about three times in the potential range of 401.0–405.8 mV relative to other ranges.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

 [1 ] Breed A.W., Hansford G.S., Modeling Continuous Bioleach Reactors, Biotechnology And Bioengineering, 64(6): 671-677 (1999).
[2] Bircumshaw L., Changunda K., Hansford G., Rawatla R., Development of a Mathematical Model for Continuous Tank Bioleaching, The Journal of South African Institue of Mining and Metallurgy, 106: 227 (2006).
[3] Mousavi S.M., Vossoughi M., Yaghmaei S., Jafari A., Copper Recovery from Chalcopyrite Concentrate
by an Indigenous Acidithiobacillus Ferrooxidans in an Air-Lift Bioreactor, Iranian Journal of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering (IJCCE), 25(3): 21-26 (2006).
[4] Halinen A.-K., Rahunen N., Kaksonen A.H., Puhakka J.A., Heap Bioleaching of a Complex Sulfide Ore:
Part I: Effect of pH on Metal Extraction and Microbial Composition in pH Controlled Columns, Hydrometallurgy, 98(1–2): 92-100 (2009).
[5] Jonglertjunya W., "Bioleaching of Chalcopyrite", PhD Thesis, University of Birmangham, (2003).
[6] Roshani M., Shojaosadati S.A., Safdari S.J., Vasheghani-Farahani E., Mirjalili K., Manafi Z., Bioleaching of Molybdenum by Two New Thermophilic Strains Isolated and Characterized, Iranian Journal of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering (IJCCE), 36(4): 183-194 (2017).
[7] Watling H.R., The Bioleaching of Sulphide Minerals with Emphasis on Copper Sulphides — A Review, Hydrometallurgy, 84(1–2): 81-108 (2006).
[8] Breed A.W., Dempers C.J.N., Hansford G.S., Studies on The Bioleaching of Refractory Concentrates,
The Journal of South African Institue of Mining and Metallurgy: 389 (2000).
[9] Boon M., Heijnen J.J., Chemical Oxidation Kinetics of Pyrite in Bioleaching Processes, Hydrometallurgy, 48(1): 27-41 (1998).
[10] Long Z.E., Huang Y., Cai Z., Cong W., Ouyang F., Biooxidation of Ferrous Iron by Immobilized Acidithiobacillus Ferrooxidans in Poly(Vinyl Alcohol) Cryogel Carriers, Biotechnology Letters, 25(3): 245-249 (2003).
[11] Kametani H., Aoki A., Effect of Suspension Potential on the Oxidation Rate of Copper Concentrate
in a Sulfuric Acid Solution, Metallurgical Transactions B, 16(4): 695-705 (1985).
[12] Garrels R.M., Christ C.L., “Solutions, Minerals, and Equilibria”, Jones & Bartlett, Boston (1990).
[13] Córdoba E.M., Muñoz J.A., Blázquez M.L., González F., Ballester A., Leaching of Chalcopyrite With Ferric Ion. Part II: Effect of Redox Potential, Hydrometallurgy, 93(3-4): 88-96 (2008).
[14] Dutrizac J.E., Macdonald R.J.C., Lngraham T.R., The Kinetics of Dissolution of Synthetic Chalcopyrite in Aqueous Acidic Ferric Sulfate Solutions, Transactions of the Metallurgical Society of AIME, 245: 5 (1969).
[15] Munoz P.B., Miller J.D., Wadsworth M.E., Reaction Mechanism for the Acid Ferric Sulfate Leaching 
of Chalcopyrite, Metallurgical Transactions B, 10(2): 149-158 (1979).
[16] Hirato T., Majima H., Awakura Y., The Leaching of Chalcopyrite with Ferric Sulfate, Metallurgical Transactions B, 18(3): 489-496 (1987).
[17] Pinches A., Myburgh P.J., Van Der Merwe C., Process for The Rapid Leaching of Chalcopyrite
in the Absence of Catalysts: US Patent US6277341B1 (2001).
[18] Antonijević M.M., Bogdanović G.D., Investigation of the Leaching of Chalcopyritic ore in Acidic Solutions, Hydrometallurgy, 73(3-4): 245-256 (2004).
[19] Lu Z.Y., Jeffrey M.I., Lawson F., An Electrochemical Study of the Effect of Chloride Ions on the Dissolution of Chalcopyrite in Acidic Solutions, Hydrometallurgy, 56(2): 145-155 (2000).
[20] Nicol M., Miki H., Zhang S., The Anodic Behaviour of Chalcopyrite in Chloride Solutions: Voltammetry, Hydrometallurgy, 171: 198-205 (2017).
[21] Nicol M.J., The Use of Impedance Measurements in The Electrochemistry of the Dissolution of Sulfide Minerals, Hydrometallurgy, 169: 99-102 (2017).
[22] Nicol M., Zhang S., The Anodic Behaviour of Chalcopyrite in Chloride Solutions: Potentiostatic Measurements, Hydrometallurgy, 167: 72-80 (2017).
[23] Córdoba E.M., Muñoz J.A., Blázquez M.L., González F., Ballester A., Leaching of Chalcopyrite with Ferric Ion. Part I: General Aspects, Hydrometallurgy, 93(3-4): 81-87 (2008).
Iranian Journal of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering
Volume 39, Issue 5 - Serial Number 103
September and October 2020
Pages 343-352

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics