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Leaching Principles and Kinetics

This document discusses principles and kinetics of leaching processes. It specifically addresses factors that influence the choice between agitated and non-agitated leaching for a new ore feed. It also provides experimental data on leaching a sulphide concentrate in an autoclave and asks questions about calculating copper and iron recovery from the data, and explaining the products formed. Additional questions address factors influencing cyanidation of gold ores, steps in the shrinking core leaching model, and using experimental data to determine the rate controlling step and calculate rates of oxygen consumption and sulphide concentrate leaching.

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Thembi Matebula
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91 views

Leaching Principles and Kinetics

This document discusses principles and kinetics of leaching processes. It specifically addresses factors that influence the choice between agitated and non-agitated leaching for a new ore feed. It also provides experimental data on leaching a sulphide concentrate in an autoclave and asks questions about calculating copper and iron recovery from the data, and explaining the products formed. Additional questions address factors influencing cyanidation of gold ores, steps in the shrinking core leaching model, and using experimental data to determine the rate controlling step and calculate rates of oxygen consumption and sulphide concentrate leaching.

Uploaded by

Thembi Matebula
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Leaching Principles and Kinetics

Please submit question 6 for marking

Question 1
Commercial leaching has been divided into two major techniques i.e. agitation leaching and non-agitated
leaching. Using an ore of your choice briefly state and explain two important key factors that would
influence your choice of a leaching route from the two mentioned above for a new ore feed for treatment in
a hydrometallurgical leaching plant.

Question 2

A sulphide concentrates with chalcopyrite (CuFeS2), bornite (Cu5FeS4) and pyrite (FeS2) as main
minerals was test-leached under pressure in an autoclave at 2200C and 700kPa oxygen pressure. The
experiment was done in a continuous leaching mode with 150 grams of concentrate per litre leaching
solution. Samples were taken at the exit stream. The residue was washed with water and dried. The
chemical analysis of feed material and dried residue was as follows:

Cu (%) Fe (%) S (%) SiO2 (%)


Feed 33,1 27,3 34,6 5,0
Residue 24,1 29,5 34,7 11,7

i) Calculate the recovery of copper and iron with the assumption that the gangue material (SiO2) is inert
under these leaching conditions.
ii) ii) Further chemical analysis showed that the leach products include sulphates in solution and hematite in
the solid residue. Explain why these products are formed, rather than other forms of iron oxides or
hydroxides or other sulphur species.

Question 4
The process route selected for the cyanide leaching of gold is dependant among other things on whether the
gold ore is free milling or refractory.
i) Explain why cyanide leaching of gold is done at alkaline pH?
ii) Indicate two different categories of gold refractoriness and briefly suggest pre-treatment methods used
for each before the cyanidation process.
iii) Choose one of the indicated class of refractoriness indicated in (ii) above, draw an annotated flow
diagram to indicate a possible hydrometallurgical route in the processing of gold from a high grade
refractory ore.

Question 5
The leaching process in hydrometallurgy is usually defined by the shrinking core model. Answer the
following questions;
i) During the dissolution process in leaching what are the fundamental steps involved that might
control the overall dissolution process?
ii) What steps can be taken towards reducing the limitations provided by each of these steps in order
to improve the rate of leaching?

Question 6

The acid leaching of 200g of metallic sulphide particles spherical in shape and uniform in size, (1mm in
diameter) can be described by the shrinking core model. The reaction is expressed as;
MS  1 O2  2H   M 2   S 0  H 2O
2
1
The reaction is believed to be of first order with respect to the oxygen concentration in solution. The
reaction is undertaken at 25 degrees in air-saturated water under normal atmospheric conditions of 20.95mol
percent oxygen. The equilibrium constant for the dissolution of oxygen gas in water under these conditions,
Ksol , for oxygen is 1.32x10-4 (mol/cm3 )/atm. The following results were obtained;

Time Diameter of core (MS)


(mm)
hours Minutes Seconds
0 0 0 1.00
0 11 57 0.93
0 26 6 0.84
0 43 52 0.74
1 9 12 0.59
2 46 40 0.00

Given that the diffusion coefficient for oxygen, DO2 = 2.5 x 10-5 cm2 /s, Molecular weight of MS and S are
97g and 32g, Density of MS is 4.04 g/cm3
a) By use of sensible calculations and explanations, indicate the rate controlling step.
1 d O2 
b) Calculate the overall rate of oxygen consumption,  in moles/cm2 .sec.
S dt
dN B
c) Calculate the rate of leaching of the sulphide concentrate, in moles/min at 60% conversion
dt

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