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Enhanced copper recovery from low grade copper sulfide ores through bioleaching using residues produced by fermentation of agricultural wastes

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Abstract

Effects of residues produced by agricultural wastes fermentation (AWF) on low grade copper sulfide ores bioleaching, copper recovery, and microbial community were investigated. The results indicated that adding appropriate bulk of AWF made contributions to low grade copper sulfide ores bioleaching, which may be mainly realized through reducing the passivation layer formed by Fe3+ hydrolysis. Improved copper recovery (78.35%) and bacteria concentration (9.56 × 107 cells·mL−1) were yielded in the presence of 5 g·L−1 AWF. The result of 16S rDNA analysis demonstrated that microbial community was differentiated by adding AWF. Bacteria proportion, such as Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans, Moraxella osloensis, and Lactobacillus acetotolerans changed distinctly. Great difference between samples was showed according to beta diversity index, and the maximum value reached 0.375. Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans accounted for the highest proportion throughout the bioleaching process, and that of sample in the presence of 5 g·L−1 AWF reached 28.63%. The results should show reference to application of agricultural wastes and low grade copper sulfide ores.

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Acknowledgements

This work was financially supported by the Key Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 52034001 and 51734001), the Innovation Team in Key Fields of Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China (No. 2018RA400), the 111 Project (No. B20041), the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (No. FRF-TP-18-003C1), and China Scholarship Council (No. 202006460037).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for High-Efficient Mining and Safety of Metal, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China

    Wei Chen & Shenghua Yin

  2. School of Civil and Resource Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, 100083, China

    Wei Chen, Shenghua Yin, Qing Song, Leiming Wang & Xun Chen

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  1. Wei Chen
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  2. Shenghua Yin
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  3. Qing Song
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  4. Leiming Wang
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  5. Xun Chen
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Correspondence to Shenghua Yin.

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Chen, W., Yin, S., Song, Q. et al. Enhanced copper recovery from low grade copper sulfide ores through bioleaching using residues produced by fermentation of agricultural wastes. Int J Miner Metall Mater 29, 2136–2143 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-021-2392-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12613-021-2392-1

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