Abstract
The kinetics of the bioleaching of a low-grade copper ore was studied in a pilot-scale leaching column over a period of 360 days using an open-circuit leaching regime with a fresh sulfuric acid solution at pH = 2 at the inlet of the column. The effluent solutions were periodically analyzed for Cu, total Fe and Fe(II) concentrations as well as Eh and pH values. Bacterial population was measured both in the solution (free cells) and at the surface of the ore particles. Bacterial growth parameters and the true kinetic constant for the dissolution of the sulfide minerals present in the ore were determined in independent experiments. A generalized phenomenological model for the bioleaching of sulfide ores is presented, for which practically all the required parameters can be independently measured. The model is capable of reproducing well measured values of the process variables, and the results are extended to the simulation of the process under different operating conditions.
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