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Hydrothermal purification and enrichment of Chilean copper concentrates
- Source :
- Hydrometallurgy. 95:104-112
- Publication Year :
- 2009
- Publisher :
- Elsevier BV, 2009.
-
Abstract
- The nature and basic kinetics of the hydrothermal reactions of bornite, covellite and pyrite with copper sulfate solutions were investigated, as a previous study on the behavior of the bulk Chilean copper concentrates. The reaction of bornite produced digenite at 2+ ] (aq) , and the activation energy was ∼ 100 kJ/mol. Covellite was transformed to digenite at 200 °C. The reaction was characterized for an irregular nucleation and growth of the products, which were non-protective. The order with respect the [Cu 2+ ] (aq) was 0.6 and the activation energy ∼ 110 kJ/mol. The pyrite reaction was significant at > 200 °C and extensive at 240 °C. It produced a mixture of digenite/chalcocite-Q, with small amounts of djurleite. The transformation has a high Philling–Betworth ratio (∼ 1.6), causing the break of the product layers. The reaction order and the activation energy were also 0.6 and ∼ 110 kJ/mol, respectively. The rate of the bornite reaction should be controlled by solid-state ionic diffusion, whereas for covellite and pyrite the rates should be limited by electrochemical processes. Towards the hydrothermal transformation, the reactivity of the main phases present in Chuquicamata-type concentrates was: bornite > chalcopyrite > covellite > sphalerite > pyrite.
Details
- ISSN :
- 0304386X
- Volume :
- 95
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Hydrometallurgy
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi...........79da9f1d6c0fa0207e1e056dcf8c0a61