Abstract
Leaching of nickel and cobalt from two physical grades (S1, 125–190 μm, coarser and S3, 53–75 μm, finer) of chromite overburden was achieved by treating the overburden (2% pulp density) with 21-d culture filtrate of an Aspergillus niger strain grown in sucrose medium. Metal dissolution increases with ore roasting at 600°C and decreasing particle size due to the alteration of microstructural properties involving the conversion of goethite to hematite and the increase in surface area and porosity as evident from X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetry-differential thermal analysis (DT-TGA), and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). About 65% Ni and 59% Co were recovered from the roasted S3 ore employing bioleaching against 26.87% Ni and 31.3% Co using an equivalent amount of synthetic oxalic acid under identical conditions. The results suggest that other fungal metabolites in the culture filtrate played a positive role in the bioleaching process, making it an efficient green approach in Ni and Co recovery from lateritic chromite overburden.
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Biswas, S., Samanta, S., Dey, R. et al. Microbial leaching of chromite overburden from Sukinda mines, Orissa, India using Aspergillus niger . Int J Miner Metall Mater 20, 705–712 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-013-0787-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-013-0787-3