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Molybdenite Concentrate Purification by a Continuous Sulfation-Leaching Process

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Abstract

Purification of molybdenite concentrate from copper concentrates was performed by sulfation. The sulfation of molybdenite concentrates was carried out with pure sulfuric acid (> 96%) at 160–190 °C to study the influence of the reaction temperature and reaction time on the residual copper in the molybdenite concentrates. A purified concentrate with less than 0.1 wt% copper and low levels of other metals were obtained. For up to 7.1 wt% copper, the conditions required are a temperature of 190 °C, a reaction time of 14 h, and a moly/acid weight ratio of 1/1. Furthermore, several designs of sulfation reactors were evaluated in order to obtain the desired level of copper in the product and to analyze the influence of the operational and design parameters on the reactor dispersion number (Le). The basic design for an 80-t/day plant fed with 4 wt% copper molybdenite concentrate requires five backmixed reactors in series, each measuring 8 m3, operating at 190 °C and with a reaction time of 10 h. The reactor must be protected against severe corrosion by the hot sulfuric acid with either Teflon, glass or ceramic.

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Abbreviations

C T :

Tracer concentration (count/s)

\({\text{C}}_{\text{T}}^{0}\) :

Initial tracer concentration (count/s)

D a :

Axial dispersion coefficient (cm2/s)

L :

Reactor length (m)

Le:

Reactor dispersion number (Levenspiel N)

n :

Number of backmixed reactors in series ( −)

t :

Reaction time (h)

\(\stackrel{\mathrm{-}}{\text{t}}\) :

Average reaction time (h)

\({\stackrel{\mathrm{-}}{\text{t}}}_{\text{i}}\) :

Average reaction time in the i reactor (h)

\(\stackrel{\mathrm{-}}{\text{u}}\) :

Average spatial velocity (m/s)

X Cu :

Fraction of sulfated copper ( −)

\({\stackrel{\mathrm{-}}{\text{X}}}_{\text{Cu}}\) :

Average fraction of sulfated copper ( −)

θ:

Dimensionless average reaction time ( −)

T :

Time required for complete sulfation (h)

References

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank CODELCO for the permission to publish parts of the experimental data and results.

Funding

This research program was funded through a contract with Codelco-Chuquicamata Division. The authors were further financed by ANID Centros Basales through Grant ACE210012 (210012).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Metallurgical Engineering, University of Concepcion, Concepcion, Chile

    I. Wilkomirsky, J. Becker & F. Parada

  2. IME Process Metallurgy and Metal Recycling, RWTH, Aachen, Germany

    J. Becker

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  1. I. Wilkomirsky
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  2. J. Becker
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  3. F. Parada
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Correspondence to I. Wilkomirsky.

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Wilkomirsky, I., Becker, J. & Parada, F. Molybdenite Concentrate Purification by a Continuous Sulfation-Leaching Process. Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration 39, 1679–1686 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42461-022-00628-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42461-022-00628-7

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