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Intensification of Sulfuric Acid Leaching of Copper from Sulfide Concentrates Using Ozone and Iron Ions

  • METALLURGY OF NONFERROUS METALS
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Abstract

Studies have been conducted to establish the patterns of sulfuric acid dissolution of metal sulfides in the presence of environmentally friendly oxidizing agents, ozone and iron(III) ions; determine the parameters and modes of intensified extraction of metals into solution; reduce the consumption of oxidizing agents; and develop the least environmentally intense and most cost-effective methods for the extraction of nonferrous metals from sulfide ores, concentrates, and industrial wastes. A copper sulfide concentrate with a grain size of 0.074 mm (90%) and a copper content of 24.5% obtained by the flotation concentration of ore from the Udokan deposit and ozone with a concentration of 80–180 mg/L in a mixture with oxygen are used for the study. The concentrate is fed into a stirred reactor at a rate of 1–5 mL/s. Patterns are studied within the sulfuric acid concentration range 20–100 g/L and a Fe(III) ion concentration of 7.8–29.2 g/L at a solid phase to liquid phase ratio 1.1–1.5 at a temperature of 18–60°C. It has been established that the use of Fe(III) ions and ozone can significantly intensify the recovery of copper from sulfides in sulfuric acid solutions. The extraction of copper from sulfides increases in proportion to the 2.4-fold increase in the concentration of Fe(III) from 7.8 to 29.25 g/L. Ozone effectively oxidizes Fe(II) and regenerates the oxidizing agent, Fe(III) ions. With an increase in the temperature and iron concentration, the consumption of ozone for oxidation increases; namely, 0.22 mol of O3 is consumed per 1 mol of Fe, which is higher than a theoretical value of 0.17. An increase in the rate of the ozone-assisted extraction of copper from sulfides is achieved by increasing the temperature from 20 to 50°C (by 1.4 times), the concentration of ozone from 85 to 180 mg/L (3 times), the feed rate of the ozone–oxygen gas mixture from 1 to 5 mL/s (2.7 times at 20°C and 3.9 times at 50°C), and by the addition of Fe(III) ions by ~1.5 times at 50°C and [Fe(III)] = 10 g/L. The largest oxidizing activity in the sulfuric acid solution is provided by ozone decomposition products at a temperature of 50°C when the solubility of ozone decreases. The ozone utilization coefficient and specific ozone consumption rate for extracted copper decrease with an increase in the feed rate of the ozone–oxygen gas mixture from 1 to 5 mL/s by 1.42 times at 20°C and by 1.16 times at 50°C and increase with an increase in the temperature and concentration of Fe(III) due to the rapid decomposition of ozone and its unproductive use for the oxidation of iron.

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Funding

This work was supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, project no. 19-05-00641/19.

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  1. National University of Science and Technology “MISiS”, 119049, Moscow, Russia

    L. N. Krylova

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  1. L. N. Krylova
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Correspondence to L. N. Krylova.

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Translated by O. Lotova

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Krylova, L.N. Intensification of Sulfuric Acid Leaching of Copper from Sulfide Concentrates Using Ozone and Iron Ions. Russ. J. Non-ferrous Metals 61, 49–56 (2020). https://doi.org/10.3103/S1067821220010095

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