Efficiency of Chemical and Biological Leaching of Copper Slag for the Recovery of Metals and Valorisation of the Leach Residue as Raw Material in Cement Production
Copper slags produced in vast quantities in smelting operations could be considered as secondary material sources instead of stockpiling them in landfills. This study investigates the recovery of valuable metals from copper slag and the valorisation of the leach residue as construction material in l...
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doaj-531d5ac2942047ffa0f629194e4279f42020-11-25T03:39:20ZengMDPI AGMinerals2075-163X2020-07-011065465410.3390/min10080654Efficiency of Chemical and Biological Leaching of Copper Slag for the Recovery of Metals and Valorisation of the Leach Residue as Raw Material in Cement ProductionPäivi Kinnunen0Jarno Mäkinen1Marja Salo2Ratana Soth3Konstantinos Komnitsas4VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd, Visiokatu 4, 33101 Tampere, FinlandVTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd, Visiokatu 4, 33101 Tampere, FinlandVTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd, Visiokatu 4, 33101 Tampere, FinlandScience and Technology Department, Imerys Technology Centre- Lyon, 38090 Vaulx-Milieu, FranceSchool of Mineral Resources Engineering, Technical University of Crete, GR-73100 Chania, GreeceCopper slags produced in vast quantities in smelting operations could be considered as secondary material sources instead of stockpiling them in landfills. This study investigates the recovery of valuable metals from copper slag and the valorisation of the leach residue as construction material in line with the principles of a circular economy. By taking into account that the environmental characterization of the as-received copper slag did not allow its disposal in landfills without prior treatment, chemical and biological leaching were tested for the recovery of metals. Pre-treatment with acids, namely HNO<sub>3</sub> and H<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub>, resulted in the extraction of several target metals and the production of an almost inert waste. Despite the clearly better oxidative conditions prevailing in the bioleaching reactors, chemical leaching resulted in the higher dissolution of Cu (71% vs. 51%), Co (70% vs. 36%), and Zn (65% vs. 44%). The acid consumption was much lower during the bioleaching experiments compared to the chemical leaching. The bioleach residue was suitable for its use as supplementary cementitious material, showing a better performance than the reference sample without causing any detrimental effects to the calcium aluminate cement (CAC) quality. The complete valorisation of copper slags is expected to improve the economics of the process, by avoiding landfill costs and producing saleable products with high added value.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-163X/10/8/654copper slagbioleachingleachingenvironmental characteristicssupplementary cementitious materialcement |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Päivi Kinnunen Jarno Mäkinen Marja Salo Ratana Soth Konstantinos Komnitsas |
spellingShingle |
Päivi Kinnunen Jarno Mäkinen Marja Salo Ratana Soth Konstantinos Komnitsas Efficiency of Chemical and Biological Leaching of Copper Slag for the Recovery of Metals and Valorisation of the Leach Residue as Raw Material in Cement Production Minerals copper slag bioleaching leaching environmental characteristics supplementary cementitious material cement |
author_facet |
Päivi Kinnunen Jarno Mäkinen Marja Salo Ratana Soth Konstantinos Komnitsas |
author_sort |
Päivi Kinnunen |
title |
Efficiency of Chemical and Biological Leaching of Copper Slag for the Recovery of Metals and Valorisation of the Leach Residue as Raw Material in Cement Production |
title_short |
Efficiency of Chemical and Biological Leaching of Copper Slag for the Recovery of Metals and Valorisation of the Leach Residue as Raw Material in Cement Production |
title_full |
Efficiency of Chemical and Biological Leaching of Copper Slag for the Recovery of Metals and Valorisation of the Leach Residue as Raw Material in Cement Production |
title_fullStr |
Efficiency of Chemical and Biological Leaching of Copper Slag for the Recovery of Metals and Valorisation of the Leach Residue as Raw Material in Cement Production |
title_full_unstemmed |
Efficiency of Chemical and Biological Leaching of Copper Slag for the Recovery of Metals and Valorisation of the Leach Residue as Raw Material in Cement Production |
title_sort |
efficiency of chemical and biological leaching of copper slag for the recovery of metals and valorisation of the leach residue as raw material in cement production |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Minerals |
issn |
2075-163X |
publishDate |
2020-07-01 |
description |
Copper slags produced in vast quantities in smelting operations could be considered as secondary material sources instead of stockpiling them in landfills. This study investigates the recovery of valuable metals from copper slag and the valorisation of the leach residue as construction material in line with the principles of a circular economy. By taking into account that the environmental characterization of the as-received copper slag did not allow its disposal in landfills without prior treatment, chemical and biological leaching were tested for the recovery of metals. Pre-treatment with acids, namely HNO<sub>3</sub> and H<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub>, resulted in the extraction of several target metals and the production of an almost inert waste. Despite the clearly better oxidative conditions prevailing in the bioleaching reactors, chemical leaching resulted in the higher dissolution of Cu (71% vs. 51%), Co (70% vs. 36%), and Zn (65% vs. 44%). The acid consumption was much lower during the bioleaching experiments compared to the chemical leaching. The bioleach residue was suitable for its use as supplementary cementitious material, showing a better performance than the reference sample without causing any detrimental effects to the calcium aluminate cement (CAC) quality. The complete valorisation of copper slags is expected to improve the economics of the process, by avoiding landfill costs and producing saleable products with high added value. |
topic |
copper slag bioleaching leaching environmental characteristics supplementary cementitious material cement |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2075-163X/10/8/654 |
work_keys_str_mv |
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