The Influence of pH and Ferrous Ions on Chalcopyrite Dissolution in Chemical Leaching Chalcopyrite

摘要

This paper studied the influence of pH, temperature and particle size on the chemical leaching of chalcopyrite. The results show that H~+ is not only responsible for the hydrolysis and precipitation of ferric ion as jarosite, but also related directly to chalcopyrite dissolution. The mechanism of chalcopyrite leaching is as follows: the first stage is H~+ attacking valence band and electron transition during oxidation, which needs a great deal of the energy to the system. The second stage is the transport of electrons from the chalcopyrite surface to the dissolved oxygen. However, the limiting step changes into diffusion control from chemical control when the elemental sulphur film formed, which obstructs transport of electrons.