Stabilizing Arsenic in Copper Heap Leaching Residues
The need to sustainably produce raw materials encourages mining companies to develop and incorporate new economically and environmentally efficient processes. Therefore, there is a need to investigate the behavior and stabilization of hazardous elements present in effluents from metal recovery proce...
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doaj-def0318dceeb484bac1933f37d07bbaa2020-11-25T03:46:05ZengMDPI AGMetals2075-47012020-09-01101242124210.3390/met10091242Stabilizing Arsenic in Copper Heap Leaching ResiduesOscar Benavente0María Cecilia Hernández1Evelyn Melo2Víctor Quezada3Yan Sepúlveda4Yuri Zepeda5Laboratorio de Investigación de Minerales Sulfurados, Departamento de Ingeniería Metalúrgica y Minas, Universidad Católica del Norte, Avenida Angamos 0610, Antofagasta 1270709, ChileLaboratorio de Investigación de Minerales Sulfurados, Departamento de Ingeniería Metalúrgica y Minas, Universidad Católica del Norte, Avenida Angamos 0610, Antofagasta 1270709, ChileLaboratorio de Investigación de Minerales Sulfurados, Departamento de Ingeniería Metalúrgica y Minas, Universidad Católica del Norte, Avenida Angamos 0610, Antofagasta 1270709, ChileLaboratorio de Investigación de Minerales Sulfurados, Departamento de Ingeniería Metalúrgica y Minas, Universidad Católica del Norte, Avenida Angamos 0610, Antofagasta 1270709, ChileLaboratorio de Investigación de Minerales Sulfurados, Departamento de Ingeniería Metalúrgica y Minas, Universidad Católica del Norte, Avenida Angamos 0610, Antofagasta 1270709, ChileCompañía Minera Lomas Bayas, General Borgoño 934, Antofagasta 1270242, ChileThe need to sustainably produce raw materials encourages mining companies to develop and incorporate new economically and environmentally efficient processes. Therefore, there is a need to investigate the behavior and stabilization of hazardous elements present in effluents from metal recovery processes such as arsenic. This study evaluates the incorporation of an effluent solution from a copper smelter that is to be treated in a copper hydrometallurgical plant (heap leaching). The treatment is applied to recover compounds of interest such as copper, acid and water, in addition to confining impurities as stable residues in the leach residues. Here, we assess the capacity of the mineral to retain arsenic. To do this, a mixed solution of effluent and process solution was prepared, with a concentration of 1 g/L of arsenic. The solution was irrigated in leach columns loaded with a heap mineral with varying pH levels (0.8; 1.5 and 2) and solution potentials (510 and 540 mV). The concentrations of arsenic and iron in the solution and in the solid residues were measured to determine the capacity of the mineral to retain arsenic and how it was retained. The pH level plays an important role since, at a higher pH, the presence of arsenic and iron in the solution decreases, therefore increasing in the solid residue. Finally, a retention of 57% of arsenic is reached at pH 2. The characterization of the residues by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) confirms that arsenic is associated with Fe, S and O, forming ferric arsenates, while an X-Ray analysis identifies the arsenic compounds as crystalline scorodite.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/10/9/1242leachinghydrometallurgical processarsenic stabilizationscoroditeinertization |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Oscar Benavente María Cecilia Hernández Evelyn Melo Víctor Quezada Yan Sepúlveda Yuri Zepeda |
spellingShingle |
Oscar Benavente María Cecilia Hernández Evelyn Melo Víctor Quezada Yan Sepúlveda Yuri Zepeda Stabilizing Arsenic in Copper Heap Leaching Residues Metals leaching hydrometallurgical process arsenic stabilization scorodite inertization |
author_facet |
Oscar Benavente María Cecilia Hernández Evelyn Melo Víctor Quezada Yan Sepúlveda Yuri Zepeda |
author_sort |
Oscar Benavente |
title |
Stabilizing Arsenic in Copper Heap Leaching Residues |
title_short |
Stabilizing Arsenic in Copper Heap Leaching Residues |
title_full |
Stabilizing Arsenic in Copper Heap Leaching Residues |
title_fullStr |
Stabilizing Arsenic in Copper Heap Leaching Residues |
title_full_unstemmed |
Stabilizing Arsenic in Copper Heap Leaching Residues |
title_sort |
stabilizing arsenic in copper heap leaching residues |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Metals |
issn |
2075-4701 |
publishDate |
2020-09-01 |
description |
The need to sustainably produce raw materials encourages mining companies to develop and incorporate new economically and environmentally efficient processes. Therefore, there is a need to investigate the behavior and stabilization of hazardous elements present in effluents from metal recovery processes such as arsenic. This study evaluates the incorporation of an effluent solution from a copper smelter that is to be treated in a copper hydrometallurgical plant (heap leaching). The treatment is applied to recover compounds of interest such as copper, acid and water, in addition to confining impurities as stable residues in the leach residues. Here, we assess the capacity of the mineral to retain arsenic. To do this, a mixed solution of effluent and process solution was prepared, with a concentration of 1 g/L of arsenic. The solution was irrigated in leach columns loaded with a heap mineral with varying pH levels (0.8; 1.5 and 2) and solution potentials (510 and 540 mV). The concentrations of arsenic and iron in the solution and in the solid residues were measured to determine the capacity of the mineral to retain arsenic and how it was retained. The pH level plays an important role since, at a higher pH, the presence of arsenic and iron in the solution decreases, therefore increasing in the solid residue. Finally, a retention of 57% of arsenic is reached at pH 2. The characterization of the residues by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) confirms that arsenic is associated with Fe, S and O, forming ferric arsenates, while an X-Ray analysis identifies the arsenic compounds as crystalline scorodite. |
topic |
leaching hydrometallurgical process arsenic stabilization scorodite inertization |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/10/9/1242 |
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