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The Evaluation of Sphalerite Surface Formed During Oxidative Leaching in Acidic Ferric Sulfate Media

Journal of Sustainable Metallurgy volume 7, pages 1304–1313 (2021)Cite this article

Abstract

The main problem associated with the oxidative leaching process of sphalerite is the slow dissolution rate in acidic ferric solution due to the formation of a passive layer on the sphalerite surface. This research examined the surface structure of the sphalerite concentrate, non-oxidized and oxidized in ferric sulfate solution using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM). The oxidative leaching of sphalerite with D80 of 21 μm was conducted in an acidic ferric sulfate solution with ferric concentration of 1.2 M, temperature of 80 °C, sulfuric acid concentration of 0.5 M, and leaching time of 6 h. XRD analysis showed that elemental sulfur was the main by-product of the oxidation process. The results of the HRSEM and EDS map confirmed the formation of elemental sulfur layers on the oxidized sphalerite surface. Both Raman spectroscopy and XPS analysis detected sulfur and polysulfide layers on the leached sphalerite surface. The XPS study, together with Raman spectroscopy showed that the iron-free layer formed on the oxidized sphalerite surface could be another reason for the slow kinetics of the sphalerite leaching in the oxidative leaching condition.

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Acknowledgements

This project was supported by Hamedan University of Technology, Grant No. D.18.98.1991. The authors would like to thank the RIG fund from Queen’s University for partial support of the project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, Hamedan University of Technology, P.O. Box 65155/579, Hamedan, Iran

    Saeid Karimi

  2. School of Metallurgy and Materials Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran

    Fereshteh Rashchi

  3. The Robert M. Buchan Department of Mining, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, K7L 3N6, Canada

    Ahmad Ghahreman

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  1. Saeid Karimi
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Correspondence to Saeid Karimi or Fereshteh Rashchi.

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Karimi, S., Rashchi, F. & Ghahreman, A. The Evaluation of Sphalerite Surface Formed During Oxidative Leaching in Acidic Ferric Sulfate Media. J. Sustain. Metall. 7, 1304–1313 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40831-021-00418-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40831-021-00418-3

Keywords

  • Sphalerite
  • Surface analysis
  • XPS
  • Oxidative leaching
  • Ferric ions