Effects of Several Inhibitors to Thiobacillus ferrooxidans on Ferrous Promoted Chalcopyrite Leaching

Ferrous ions enhance copper extraction from chalcopyrite in sulfuric acid solutions in air at ambient temperatures, because they promote chalcopyrite oxidation with dissolved oxygen. However iron-oxidizing bacteria such as Thiobacillus ferrooxidans rapidly consume ferrous ions, suppressing copper ex...

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Published inShigen to sozai Vol. 115; no. 3; pp. 172 - 176
Main Authors HIROYOSHI, Naoki, MIKI, Hajime, HIRAJIMA, Tsuyoshi, TSUNEKAWA, Masami
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published The Mining and Materials Processing Institute of Japan 1999
Subjects
Chalcopyrite
Ferrous Ions
Iron-oxidizing Bacteria
Leaching
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
Tannic Acid
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Summary:Ferrous ions enhance copper extraction from chalcopyrite in sulfuric acid solutions in air at ambient temperatures, because they promote chalcopyrite oxidation with dissolved oxygen. However iron-oxidizing bacteria such as Thiobacillus ferrooxidans rapidly consume ferrous ions, suppressing copper extraction. In this paper, three compounds were used to inhibit ferrous oxidation by T. ferrooxidans and their effects on ferrous promoted chalcopyrite leaching were investigated in the presence and absence of the bacteria. Sodium lauryl sulfate and tannic acid suppressed not only the bacterial ferrous oxidation but also the chalcopyrite oxidation with dissolved oxygen, resulting in a suppression of copper extraction. High concentrations of sulfuric acid (> 0.05 mol dm-3) suppressed the bacterial ferrous oxidation and promoted chalcopyrite oxidation with dissolved oxygen, causing enhanced copper extraction.
ISSN:0916-1740
1880-6244
DOI:10.2473/shigentosozai.115.172