Guobao Chen

Function of microorganism and reaction pathway for carrollite dissolution during bioleaching

Abstract The function of microorganism and dissolution reaction pathway of carrollite in the bioleaching process were investigated. The results showed that both indirect and contact mechanisms influenced the leaching process. The dissolution of carrollite was significantly accelerated when bacteria were adsorbed on the mineral surface, indicating that the contact mechanism significantly affected the dissolution of carrollite. During bioleaching, the sequence of oxidation state of the sulfur moiety of carrollite was as follows: S−2→S0→S+4→S+6. Elemental sulfur precipitated on the mineral surface, indicating that the dissolution of carrollite occurred via the polysulfide pathway. The surface of carrollite was selectively corroded by bacteria, and oxidation pits with different sizes were observed at various sites. Elemental sulfur, sulfate and sulfite were present on the surface of carrollite during the leaching process, and may have formed a passivation layer on mineral surface.

Catalytic performance of biological method seeds on jarosite process

Abstract The catalytic performance on jarosite process of jarosite seeds via biosynthesis and chemical processes were studied, respectively. The SEM and XRD results showed that biosynthetic jarosite seeds (BIO seeds) had smooth surface and mainly consisted of potassium jarosite. The chemical synthesis jarosite seeds (CHM seeds) had a loose cauliflower-like surface and mainly consisted of hydronium jarosite. The catalytic performance of BIO seeds was better than that of CHM seeds on the formation of final jarosite product. The induction time can be shortened to 20 min, the reaction temperature can be reduced to only 75 °C, and the initial reaction speed was enhanced obviously, up to 3.933%/min. The crystallinity of final jarosite product using BIO seeds can achieve 97.22%, while it was only 12.89% without seeds. This indicates that the precipitation process of jarosite is more complete with BIO seeds.

In situ characterization of natural pyrite bioleaching using electrochemical noise technique

An in situ characterization technique called electrochemical noise (ECN) was used to investigate the bioleaching of natural pyrite. ECN experiments were conducted in four active systems (sulfuric acid, ferric-ion, 9k culture medium, and bioleaching solutions). The ECN data were analyzed in both the time and frequency domains. Spectral noise impedance spectra obtained from power spectral density (PSD) plots for different systems were compared. A reaction mechanism was also proposed on the basis of the experimental data analysis. The bioleaching system exhibits the lowest noise resistance of 0.101 MΩ. The bioleaching of natural pyrite is considered to be a bio-battery reaction, which distinguishes it from chemical oxidation reactions in ferric-ion and culture-medium (9k) solutions. The corrosion of pyrite becomes more severe over time after the long-term testing of bioleaching.

Synthesis of Hydroxylated Xanthate Salt and Its Use as Novel Selective Depressant in Copper-Molybdenum Separation

A hydroxylated xanthate salt (HXS) was synthesized from ethanol, carbon disulfide, and NaOH. The flotation responses of chalcopyrite and molybdenite when HXS was used as a novel depressant were investigated using bench-scale flotation tests. The bench-scale flotation results indicate that HXS strongly influenced the flotation of chalcopyrite and had little effect on the flotation of molybdenite. These results can be attributed to a significant improvement in the molybdenite/chalcopyrite selectivity surface index after the addition of HXS. The synthesized HXS contained both solid-philic and hydrophilic groups. The molybdenum recovery achieved using HXS was 9.91% higher than that obtained using sodium hydrosulfide, and better separation was achieved. Compared with sodium hydrosulfite, the chemical oxygen demand, sulfates and five-day BOD decreased significantly using the alternative depressant. This HXS is therefore a potential depressant for use in copper-molybdenum separation.

Extraction of selenium from copper anode slimes in a sealed leaching system

A new method was proposed for extracting selenium from copper anode slimes with a low concentration of nitric acid in a sealed sulfuric acid leaching system. It is performed under an atmosphere of oxygen which allowed for a cyclic utilization of nitric acid. The effects of main parameters on selenium leaching were studied. The mineralogical characterizations of the typical samples were investigated by XRD and SEM. The results showed that the optimal conditions of the process are considered to be total gas pressure of 0.1 MPa, leaching temperature of 388 K, solid-liquid ratio of 0.20 g mL–1, H2SO4 concentration of 2 mol L–1, HNO3 concentration of 0.07 mol L–1 and leaching time of 2 h. The high selenium leaching efficiency of 99.23% was obtained under these conditions. According to the results of XRD and SEM-EDS, Cu–Ag selenide in the raw anode slimes is difficult to be leached with sulfuric acid alone; copper can be leached more easily from Cu-Ag selenide than silver; selenide is oxidized into the solution, undergoing the intermediate product of elemental selenium.

Effect of the CaO/SiO2 mass ratio and FeO content on the viscosity of CaO–SiO2–“FeO”–12wt%ZnO–3wt%Al2O3 slags

An effective process for recycling lead from hazardous waste cathode ray tubes (CRTs) funnel glass through traditional lead smelting has been presented previously. The viscous behavior of the molten high lead slag, which is affected by the addition of funnel glass, plays a critical role in determining the production efficiency. Therefore, the viscosities of the CaO–SiO2–“FeO”–12wt%ZnO–3wt%Al2O3 slags were measured in the current study using the rotating spindle method. The slag viscosity decreases as the CaO/SiO2 mass ratio is increased from 0.8 to 1.2 and also as the FeO content is increased from 8wt% to 20wt%. The breaking temperature of the slag is lowered substantially by the addition of FeO, whereas the influence of the CaO/SiO2 mass ratio on the breaking temperature is complex. The structural analysis of quenched slags using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy reveals that the silicate network structure is depolymerized with increasing CaO/SiO2 mass ratio or increasing FeO content. The [FeO6]-octahedra in the slag melt increase as the CaO/SiO2 mass ratio or the FeO content increases. This increase can further decrease the degree of polymerization (DOP) of the slag. Furthermore, the activation energy for viscous flow decreases both with increasing CaO/SiO2 mass ratio and increasing FeO content.

Mn x Ir 1−x O 2 /C used as bifunctional electrocatalyst in alkaline medium

There is a growing interest in oxygen electrochemistry as conversions between O₂ and H₂O play an important role in a variety of renewable energy technologies. In this paper, bifunctional electrocatalysts of the general formula Mn_xIr_1-xO₂/C were prepared using a pyrolysis method. Their physical characteristics were examined via transmission electron microscopy, and the electrochemical properties were examined via cyclic voltammetry and linear sweep voltammetry measurements in 1M KOH solution. Experimental results show that with the content of iridium increasing in Mn_xIr_1-xO₂/C, the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity first increases and then decreases. Mn_0.75Ir_0.25O₂/C has the highest ORR activity and its half-wave potential obtains -0.071V (relative to Hg/HgO electrode). It is worth noting that doping the MnO₂/C nanoparticles with only a small amount of iridium can considerably improve the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) activity of MnO₂ in the alkaline medium. The oxygen evolution current density at 0.75 V vs. Hg/HgO of Mn_0.75Ir_0.25O₂/C was nearly 4.31 times as that of MnO₂/C. The results offer an important direction for the development of bifunctional oxygen catalysts in alkaline medium.

The Efficient Recovery of Cobalt from Low Grade Refractory Carrollite with Bioleaching Technology

Cobalt, having many diverse and critical uses, is an essential metal in todays society. However, the recovery of cobalt is difficult due to its associated mineral characteristics. A biohydrometallurgical process has been developed for cobalt recovery from low grade refractory carrollite. After direct oxidation for 6 days, 96.51 % Co and 26.32 % Cu were extracted from the ore using a pulp density of 10 %. The bioleaching solution contained 22.62 gL-1 ferric iron while the concentration of cobalt was only 0.83 gL-1. Therefore, a goethite deironization process was then conducted. Different conditions, such as pH value, temperature, standing time and oxidant concentration were studied in detail. The results showed that when the pH value was 4.0, oxidation temperature was 70 °C, standing time was 1 h, and oxidant concentration was 8%, then the iron removal and the loss of cobalt were 99.9 % and 0.5 %, respectively. The goethite precipitate had good filterability. The sum recovery of cobalt in the whole extraction process attained more than 95 %. The biohydrometallurgy process for the recovery of cobalt has economic and environmental advantages over the other methods.