Abstract Employing activated carbon in the thiosulfate process has high potential applications for extracting gold. However, formidable challenges must be overcome to achieve such an application in an efficient and eco-friendly manner. Accordingly, this study aimed to develop a simple and environmentally friendly method for gold extraction. To this end, activated carbon with good gold capacity (15.9 kg/t) was synthesised for the first time by impregnating green reagent 1-methyl-5-mercapto-1,2,3,4-tetrazole (MMT), which can thermally decompose into a gas completely, and the mechanisms of adsorption and desorption process were studied. Acceptable desorption efficiency (nearly 100% in 12 h) was achieved for gold on activated carbon using environmentally safe and low-cost thiosulfate salt. More importantly, after gold desorption, the good gold adsorption performance (gold capacity of 13.8 kg/t) of activated carbon could be restored by treating it again with MMT. Additionally, green thiosulfate could be used not only as a leaching agent but as a desorbent for gold. Moreover, the results suggest that gold adsorption on MMT-AC takes place through a ligand exchange mechanism. Overall, the method reported herein exhibits good gold adsorption-desorption performance, while offering environmental friendliness and simplicity. With these achievements, this study is expected to accelerate the development of the expected potentially more environmentally friendly technology.

中文翻译：

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首次在硫代硫酸金系统中有效利用活性炭：一种更环保、更简单的金回收和材料再生方法

摘要 在硫代硫酸盐工艺中使用活性炭在提取金方面具有很高的应用潜力。然而，必须克服艰巨的挑战才能以高效和环保的方式实现这种应用。因此，本研究旨在开发一种简单且环保的金提取方法。为此，首次通过浸渍绿色试剂 1-methyl-5-mercapto-1,2,3,4-四唑 (MMT) 合成了具有良好金容量（15.9 kg/t）的活性炭。完全分解成气体，研究了吸附和解吸过程。使用环境安全且低成本的硫代硫酸盐，活性炭上的金实现了可接受的解吸效率（12 小时内接近 100%）。更重要的是，黄金解吸后，用MMT再次处理活性炭可以恢复其良好的金吸附性能（金容量为13.8 kg / t）。此外，绿色硫代硫酸盐不仅可以用作浸出剂，还可以用作金的解吸剂。此外，结果表明金吸附在 MMT-AC 上是通过配体交换机制发生的。总体而言，本文报道的方法表现出良好的金吸附-解吸性能，同时具有环保性和简单性。凭借这些成就，这项研究有望加速开发潜在的更环保技术。绿色硫代硫酸盐不仅可以用作浸出剂，还可以用作金的解吸剂。此外，结果表明金吸附在 MMT-AC 上是通过配体交换机制发生的。总体而言，本文报道的方法表现出良好的金吸附-解吸性能，同时具有环保性和简单性。凭借这些成就，这项研究有望加速开发潜在的更环保技术。绿色硫代硫酸盐不仅可以用作浸出剂，还可以用作金的解吸剂。此外，结果表明金吸附在 MMT-AC 上是通过配体交换机制发生的。总体而言，本文报道的方法表现出良好的金吸附-解吸性能，同时具有环保性和简单性。凭借这些成就，这项研究有望加速开发潜在的更环保技术。