Accelerating leaching of copper ore with surfactant and the analysis of reaction kinetics

Chun-ming Ai^1,2，Ping-ping Sun¹，Ai-xiang Wu²，Xun Chen²，Chao Liu³

1. College of Safety Science and Engineering, Liaoning Technical University2. Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education of China for Efficient Mining and Safety of Metal Mines, University of Science and Technology Beijing3. Wanbao Mining Limited

摘 要：To solve the problem of low permeability and lower extraction rates of high-mud ores, a surfactant was added as a penetrant to the pregnant leaching solution during column leaching tests. On the basis of the theories of physical chemistry and seepage flow mechanics, the mechanism by which seepage is enhanced under the effects of the surfactant was analyzed. The results show that the action modes of the surfactant were divided into four aspects: changing the wettability of the ore, reducing the viscosity of the leaching solution, adsorbing onto the surface of ore, and enhancing the permeability effect. The findings of column leaching tests demonstrated that permeability was substantially improved by the surfactant. In the later period of leaching, the permeability coefficient was two times higher than that of the control group. Meanwhile, the ore extraction rate increased by approximately 10%. During the leaching process, the surface tension of the solution did not substantially change, and that of the solution with surfactant increased slightly. The kinetics analysis of ore column leaching illustrated that the leaching processes were controlled by both internal diffusion（principal factor） and chemical reaction.

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