Formation of jarosite and its effect on important ions for Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans bacteria

Abstract

The precipitation of jarosite adversely affects the bio-leaching of copper sulfides in the Sarcheshmeh heap bio-leaching process. The variables of the initial concentration of ferrous iron in the growth medium, pH, and temperature were examined in the laboratory to determine how they affect the precipitation of jarosite in the presence of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans bacteria. It was found that the maximum ferric precipitate occurred at a ferrous sulfate concentration of 50 g/L, a temperature of 32 °C, and an initial pH value of 2.2. The effects of the precipitation of ferric iron on the quantities of ions that are important for A. ferrooxidans bacteria in aqueous phase, i.e., ferric, sulfate, potassium, phosphate, and magnesium ions, also were assessed. The results showed relatively similar patterns for the ferric and potassium ions, and then reason might have been the co-precipitation of these ions as constituent elements of jarosite mineral. At pH values greater than 1.6, the solubility of phosphate ions decreased dramatically due to the co-precipitation of phosphate ions with the jarosite precipitate and due to the significant growth rate of A. ferrooxidans bacteria in this pH range. Due to the dissolution of a gangue constituent in the ore, the magnesium levels increased in the first few days of the bio-leaching process; thereafter, it decreased slightly.