Leaching kinetics of copper from natural chalcocite in alkaline Na4EDTA solutions

Abstract

The leaching behavior of copper from natural chalcocite (Cu2S) particles in alkaline Na4EDTA solutions containing oxygen was examined at atmospheric pressure. The EDTA leaching process took place with consecutive reactions, where the solid product of the first reaction, covellite (CuS), became the reactant for the second. The copper leached into the alkaline solutions was immediately consumed by the chelation of copper (II) with EDTA, and the mineral sulfur was completely oxidized to sulfate ion. The experimental data for the leaching rate of copper were analyzed with a familiar shrinking-particle model for reaction control. The conversion rate of chalcocite to covellite was found to be about 10 times as high as the dissolution rate of covellite. The time required for complete dissolution of covellite was directly proportional to the initial particle size and was inversely proportional to the square root of the product of the hydroxide ion concentration and the oxygen partial pressure, but it was independent of the Na4EDTA concentration in the presence of excess Na4EDTA. The observed effects of the relevant operating variables on the dissolution rate were consistent with a kinetic model for electrochemical reaction control. The kinetic model was developed by applying the Butler-Volmer equation to the electrochemical process, in which the anodic reaction involves the oxidation of covellite to copper (II) ion and sulfate ion and the cathodic reaction involves the reduction of oxygen in alkaline solution. The rate equation allowed us to predict the time required for the complete leaching of copper from chalcocite in the alkaline Na4EDTA solutions.