Abstract
The unique properties of ionic liquids (ILs) drive the growing number of novel applications in different industries. The main features of ILs are high thermal stability, recyclability, low flash point, and low vapor pressure. This study investigated pure chalcopyrite dissolution in the presence of the ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hydrogen sulfate, [BMIm]HSO4, and a bromide-like complexing agent. The proposed system was compared with acid leaching in sulfate media with the addition of chloride and bromide ions. The results demonstrated that the use of ionic liquid and bromide ions improved the chalcopyrite leaching performance. The best operational conditions were at a temperature of 90 °C, with an ionic liquid concentration of 20% and 100 g/L of bromide.
Highlights
Chalcopyrite (CuFeS2 ) is the most important source of primary copper sulfides, representing about70% of global copper reserves
The chalcopyrite mineral was provided by the Michilla Mining Company (Antofagasta, Chile)
The mineralogical composition was monitored by X-ray diffraction (XRD), using an automatic and computerized X-ray diffractometer (Bruker model Advance D8, Billerica, MA, USA)
Summary
Chalcopyrite (CuFeS2 ) is the most important source of primary copper sulfides, representing about70% of global copper reserves. Diverse studies have contemplated further methods for leaching chalcopyrite, including the use of alkaline glycine solution [8,9], black carbon [10], hydrogen peroxide in hydrochloric acid solutions [11], bacteria [12,13], chlorinated media [14], and ionic liquids [15]. Ionic liquids (ILs) are salts formed by an organic cation and an anion which can be organic or inorganic. They are found as liquids at low temperatures, having a wide range of operating temperatures [16]. Among their excellent properties are their high degree of thermal stability, wide electrochemical range, recyclability, low flammability, Metals 2020, 10, 183; doi:10.3390/met10020183 www.mdpi.com/journal/metals
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