LEACHING

• Leaching is concerned with the extraction of a

soluble constituent from a solid by means of a
solvent.
• The process may be used either for:
(i) the production of a concentrated solution
of a valuable solid material,
(ii) remove an insoluble solid, such as a
pigment, from a soluble material with
which it is contaminated.
• Leaching is one of the oldest operations in chemical
industries which involves the use of a solvent to remove a
solute from a solid mixture.
• Though originally it was referred to the percolation of liquid
through a bed of solids, it is now used to refer the operations
by other contacting means also.
• Lixiviation is used for the leaching of alkali from wood ashes.
• Decoction refers to the operation where the solvent at its
boiling is used.
• Whenever the solute material is present largely on the
surface of an insoluble solid and is merely washed off by
the solvent, the operation is called elutriation or elution.
• It is one of the most important operations in
metallurgical industries for the extraction of
metals from ores of Al, Ni, Co, Mn and Zn.
• It is also used for the extraction of sugar from
sugar beets with hot water, extraction of oil
from oil seeds using organic solvents, removal
of tannin from various tree barks by leaching
with water, preparation of tea and coffee
and extraction of many pharmaceutical
products from plant roots and leaves.
 In situ leaching
• This operation is also called solution mining which refers to
the percolation leaching of minerals in place at a mine, by
circulation of the solvent over and through the ore bed.
• This technique is adopted for the leaching of low-grade
copper.
• In these operations, the solvent/reagent is injected continuously
through one set of pipes drilled down to the ore and the
resulting solution is pumped out through another set of pipes.
• Alternatively, the solvent/reagent can be pumped into the ore
bed intermittently and withdrawn through the same well.
• In this technique crushing and grinding of ore are avoided
 Heap leaching
• Low-grade ores can be easily leached by this
technique where the ore is gathered as a heap
upon impervious ground.
• The leach liquor is pumped over the ore, which
percolates through the heap and collected as it
drains from the heap.
• This technique is used for the extraction of
copper and uranium from their low grade ores.
• Leaching is concerned with the extraction of a soluble
constituent from a solid by means of a solvent.
• The process may be used either for the production of a
concentrated solution of a valuable solid material, or in
order to remove an insoluble solid, such as a pigment,
from a soluble material with which it is contaminated.
• The method used for the extraction is determined by
the proportion of soluble constituent present, its
distribution throughout the solid, the nature of the
solid and the particle size.
• If the solute is uniformly dispersed in the solid, the
material near the surface will be dissolved first,
leaving a porous structure in the solid residue.
• The solvent will then have to penetrate this outer
layer before it can reach further solute, and the
process will become progressively more difficult and
the extraction rate will fall.
• The method used for the extraction is
determined by:
(i) the proportion of soluble constituent
present,
(ii) its distribution throughout the solid,
(iii) the nature of the solid and
(iv) the particle size.
• If the solute is uniformly dispersed in the solid,
the material near the surface will be dissolved
first, leaving a porous structure in the solid
residue.
• The solvent will then have to penetrate this
outer layer before it can reach further solute,
and the process will become progressively
more difficult and the extraction rate will fall.
• If the solute forms a very high proportion of
the solid, the porous structure may break
down almost immediately to give a fine
deposit of insoluble residue, and access of
solvent to the solute will not be impeded.
Generally, the process can be considered in three parts:
(i) first the change of phase of the solute as it dissolves
in the solvent,
(ii) secondly its diffusion through the solvent in the
pores of the solid to the outside of the particle, and
(iii) thirdly the transfer of the solute from the solution in
contact with the particles to the main bulk of the
solution.
Any one of these three processes may be responsible
for limiting the extraction rate, though the first process
usually occurs so rapidly that it has a negligible effect on
the overall rate.
There are four important factors to be considered:

• Particle size
• Solvent
• Agitation
• Temperature
• Particle size influences the extraction rate in a number of ways.
• The smaller the size, the greater is the interfacial area between
the solid and liquid, and therefore the higher is the rate of
transfer of material and the smaller is the distance the solute
must diffuse within the solid as already indicated.
• On the other hand, the surface may not be so effectively used
with a very fine material if circulation of the liquid is impeded,
and separation of the particles from the liquid and drainage of
the solid residue are made more difficult.
• It is generally desirable that the range of particle size should be
small so that each particle requires approximately the same time
for extraction and, in particular, the production of a large amount
of fine material should be avoided as this may wedge in the
interstices of the larger particles and impede the flow of the
solvent.
• The liquid chosen should be a good selective
solvent and its viscosity should be sufficiently
low for it to circulate freely.
• Generally, a relatively pure solvent will be used
initially, although as the extraction proceeds
the concentration of solute will increase and
the rate of extraction will progressively
decrease, first because the concentration
gradient will be reduced, and secondly
because the solution will generally become
more viscous.
• In most cases, the solubility of the material which
is being extracted will increase with temperature
to give a higher rate of extraction.
• Further, the diffusion coefficient will be expected
to increase with rise in temperature and this will
also improve the rate of extraction.
• In some cases, the upper limit of temperature is
determined by secondary considerations, such
as, for example, the necessity to avoid enzyme
action during the extraction of sugar.
• Agitation of the solvent is important because
this increases the eddy diffusion and therefore
the transfer of material from the surface of
the particles to the bulk of the solution, as
discussed in the following section.
• Further, agitation of suspensions of fine
particles prevents sedimentation and more
effective use is made ofthe interfacial surface.
 Laju Leaching
• Laju perpindahan massa
NA
 k L (c AS  c A )
A
• Akumulasi
Vdc A
 N A  Ak L (c AS  c A )
dt
• Diintegrasikan, diperoleh:
c AS  c A
 e ( k L A /V )t
c AS  c A0
A = permukaan kontak, kL adalah koefisien perpindahan
CONTOH SOAL