Extraction Of Antimony Research Articles

Antimony Extraction from Sulfide Concentrates by Direct Electrolytic Desulfurization in Molten Salt

Antimony Extraction from Sulfide Concentrates by Direct Electrolytic Desulfurization in Molten Salt

Environmentally Friendly Leaching of Antimony from Mining Residues Using Deep Eutectic Solvents: Optimization and Sustainable Extraction Strategies

This paper focuses on the environmental leaching of antimony, a critical mineral, using deep eutectic solvents. Mining residues often contain embedded antimony, posing environmental risks. Deep eutectic solvents, known for being low in toxicity, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly, present a promising avenue for sustainable antimony extraction. The study focuses on optimizing the leaching process through experimental analysis by considering variables such as temperature, time, and percentage of solids. Different deep eutectic solvent (DES) compositions are being studied, including choline chloride with malonic acid, thiourea, and ethylene glycol in different molar ratios, to identify the most effective solvent system for antimony extraction. A sample, originally obtained from mining waste produced via the flotation of antimonite ore, was used to test these three types of DESs. By optimizing the leaching process by changing the ratio of solid and liquid components, as well as the amount of oxidizing agent up to 3 g, iodine, yields of up to 100% were achieved after leaching for 4 h at 100 °C. The aim of the study is to advance sustainable resource management by providing knowledge on an ecological and feasible method of extracting antimony from mine waste, leading to more conscious and efficient resource practices in the mining sector.

Технология переработки сухих отходов сорбции и растворов хлоридов сурьмы

Reducing the loss of valuable components during the processing of complex gold-antimony ores, increasing the extraction of antimony during the flotation of sulfide minerals, is an urgent scientific problem. The aim of the study is to maximize the extraction of gold and antimony from dry sorption waste after gold cyanidation, and to improve the reagent regime of the antimony mineral flotation process. Research objectives are as follows: evaluation of the technology efficiency for processing dry sorption waste; extraction of gold from the cake of acidic leaching of antimony; production of various antimony-containing products from solutions of antimony chlorides; study of the possibility of replacing lead with a mixture of zinc and copper cations to hydrophobize the surface of antimony sulfide minerals during flotation. The object of the research is man-made and natural mineral raw materials containing gold and antimony. The following research methodology and methods are used: information analysis, evaluation of existing scientific developments, methods of theoretical and experimental research. A new technological solution has been proposed: acidic (a mixture of hydrochloric acid and hydrogen hydroxide) hydrometallurgical technology for processing dry sorption waste in order to extract gold and antimony. Acid treatment makes it possible to completely transfer antimony into solution, significantly improves the quality of the cake for subsequent cyanidation and gold extraction, reduces the volume of material for processing by cyanidation, and simplifies cyanidation technology. Sb2S3 activation and the possibility of lead (Pb(NO3) replacement have been studied 2) a mixture of zinc and copper (ZnSO4 and CuSO4) during the flotation of antimony ores from the Khipkoshinsky deposit in the Transbaikal Region. This has made it possible to create favorable conditions for interaction with xanthogenate and hydrophobize the surface of sulfide minerals. Theoretically, hydrogen sulfide substitutes such as NaCNS, KCNS, CuCNS for use in the flotation process were evaluated.

Selective alkaline leaching of antimony from Low-grade refractory gold ores and process optimization

To eliminate the adverse effect of antimony on extracting of gold in matte smelting process from Sb-bearing refractory gold ores, the sodium sulfide leaching method was proposed to selectively remove antimony in advance. On the basis of the analysis and characterization of raw materials (XRD, SEM-EDS, mineralogical phase analysis, etc.), it can be detected that the antimony in refractory gold ores is mainly in form of stibnite with small quantities of oxides, and the gold is mainly wrapped up in sulfides and silicates. The effects of sodium sulfide and sodium hydroxide concentration, temperature, leaching time and liquid–solid ratio on the extraction rate of antimony and gold were discussed. Furthermore, the response surface method was applied to distinguish the interaction influence of process parameters on the antimony and gold extraction rate. It is detected that the polysulfides and thiosulfates are the main cause of associated leaching of gold. Furthermore, the regression equation model is established adopting the antimony extraction rate as response value, and it can be deduced that the relevance degree is Na2S concentration > temperature > NaOH concentration. Accordingly, the optimized process results are determined as follows: the extraction rates of antimony and gold reach 94.15% and 3.37%, respectively, under Na2S concentration of 85.66 g/L, NaOH concentration of 45.5 g/L, liquid–solid ratio of 1.5, leaching at 90 °C for 5 min, which are very consistent with the predicted values of the regression equation, proving the feasibility of the proposed optimization model.

Effect of pH Hydrolysis on the Recovery of Antimony from Spent Electrolytes from Copper Production.

This study examined how pH hydrolysis affects the recovery process for antimony extracted from spent electrolytes. Various OH- reagents were used to adjust the pH levels. The findings reveal that pH plays a crucial role in determining the optimal conditions for extracting antimony. The results show that NH4OH and NaOH are more effective compared to water, with optimal conditions at pH 0.5 for water and pH 1 for NH4OH and NaOH, resulting in average antimony extraction yields of 90.4%, 96.1%, and 96.7%, respectively. Furthermore, this approach helps to improve both crystallography and purity related to recovered antimony samples obtained through recycling processes. The solid precipitates obtained lack a crystalline structure, making it difficult to identify the compounds formed, but element concentrations suggest the presence of oxychloride or oxide compounds. Arsenic is incorporated into all solids, affecting the purity of the product, and water showing higher antimony content (68.38%) and lower arsenic values (8%) compared to NaOH and NH4OH. Bismuth integration into solids is less than arsenic (less than 2%) and remains unaffected by pH levels except in tests with water, where a bismuth hydrolysis product is identified at pH 1, accounting for the observed reduction in antimony extraction yields.

Extraction of antimony from a hydrochloric acid side stream of copper electro-refining by hydrolysis

This work explores the feasibility of recovering antimony, present in a side stream of hydrochloric acid resulting from a copper electro-refining process, by hydrolysis with water. A range of variables that can affect the process have been studied. According to the results, under optimal conditions (pH = 0.645 T = 34 °C), antimony extraction yield is 94.4%. The reaction product is amorphous, with antimony content close to 70% and Cl and O contents similar to the stoichiometric ratios of complex oxychloride compounds. Moreover, significant amounts of arsenic and bismuth have been revealed. The presence of bismuth affects the extraction performance, while arsenic impairs its potential commercialisation.

Bioleaching of zinc, copper and antimony from a tetrahedrite concentrate using acidophilic microorganisms

In this study, bacterial leaching of zinc, copper and antimony from tetrahedrite concentrate was investigated with mixed mesophilic and mixed moderately thermophilic microorganisms. The mineralogical studies showed that tetrahedrite ((Cu,Fe)12Sb4S13), ankerite (Ca(Fe,Mg)(CO3)2) and quartz (SiO2) are the main mineral phases. During bioleaching experiments, the effects of different chemicals and factors such as graphite, silver nitrate, L-cysteine, pyrite, and mechanical activation were studied for the first time. It was found that the removal of toxic antimony from tetrahedrite concentrate by alkaline Na2S-NaOH facilitates the growth of microorganisms and extraction rates of metals. The maximum extraction of zinc, copper and antimony was 99.7%, >99.9% and 92.8% with ORP, cell counts and Fe(III) concentration of 666 mV, 108 cells/ml and 9.58 g/l, respectively, using the moderately thermophilic culture with the tetrahedrite residue obtained after alkaline leaching (low-Sb). Under the same control leaching conditions with H2SO4, the maximum extraction of zinc, copper and antimony was 26.2%, 46.1% and 10.7% with low ORP and Fe(III) concentration of 464 mV and 5.18 g/l, respectively. The results showed that bacterial leaching of tetrahedrite concentrate significantly improves the extraction of metals compared to control test. As an important result, mechanical activation by planetary mill played a significant role during tetrahedrite bioleaching. Residual analysis proved the formation of antimony sulfide (Sb2S5) and jarosite (K3Fe9S6O42H18) phase as dissolution inhibitors and acanthite phase (Ag2S) as accelerator for dissolution kinetics.

Theoretical calculation and experimental study on the separation mechanism of PbS-Sb2S3

Jamesonite (Pb4FeSb6S14) is a complex antimony sulfide mineral and an important raw material for the extraction of lead and antimony. Under vacuum conditions, the internal interaction mechanism of PbS and Sb2S3 during thermal decomposition is unclear and difficult to separate. In order to explore the interaction mechanism between PbS and Sb2S3, the thermodynamic data of Pb-S and Sb-S systems were firstly calculated by thermodynamic calculation method, PbS and Sb2S3 cluster substances that may exist in the gas phase were obtained under the given temperature conditions. On this basis, ab initio molecular dynamics was used to calculate the mean square displacement and diffusion coefficient of PbS and Sb2S3 gas phase clusters. The vacuum distillation experiments of lead sulfide and antimony trisulfide confirmed the volatilization and diffusion of PbS and Sb2S3, and verified the theoretical calculation results. According to the experiment, the volatilization temperature of Sb2S3 is much lower than that of PbS. The theoretical calculation results are consistent with the experimental results, which indicates that the calculation of the diffusion properties of PbS and Sb2S3 gas phase clusters by molecular dynamics simulation is reliable. This is also an effective and simple method to predict whether the mixed melt of PbS and Sb2S3 can be separated, which provides theoretical guidance for the vacuum separation of PbS and Sb2S3.

A Review on Pyrometallurgical Extraction of Antimony from Primary Resources: Current Practices and Evolving Processes

Antimony is classified as a critical/strategic metal. Its primary production is predominated by China via pyrometallurgical routes such as volatilization roasting—reduction smelting or direct reduction smelting. The performance of most of the pyro-processes is very sensitive to concentrate type and grade. Therefore, technology selection for a greenfield plant is a significant and delicate task to maximize the recovery rate of antimony and subsequently precious metals (PMs), mainly gold, from the concentrates. The current paper reviews the conventional pyrometallurgical processes and technologies that have been practiced for the treatment of antimony concentrates. The blast furnace is the most commonly used technology, mainly because of its adaptability to different feeds and grades and a high recovery rate. In addition, several other more environmentally friendly pyrometallurgical routes, that were recently developed, are reviewed but these are still at laboratory- or pilot-scales. For example, decarbonization of antimony production through the replacement of carbonaceous reductants with hydrogen seems to be feasible, although the process is still at its infancy, and further research and development are necessary for its commercialization. At the end, available refining methods for removal of the most important impurities including arsenic, sulfur, lead, iron, and copper from crude antimony are discussed.

Geological work in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) over 100 years

The main stages of the creation and development of Russia’s largest mineral resource base in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) are considered in connection with the 100th anniversary of the republic formation. Since 1922, the extraction of gold, diamonds, silver, antimony, coal, natural gas, oil, and constructive materials has been developing in the territory of the republic on the basis of the mineral deposits discovered. The mineral resources accumulated during the previous 100 years still determine the economic development of the republic. The most important and effective factor in the impressive successes and achievements of the geologists of Yakutia is the human one. The geological survey, prospection, and exploration of the mineral deposits provide abundant material for the scientific research and generalization. The development of geological works has created a huge flow of geological information that needs systemic generalization. Over the past 100 years, geologists have fulfilled their historical task of creating the mineral resource base and mining industry in the former Yakutian SSR - recent Republic of Sakha(Yakutia). Their activities continue to this day.

A Selective Method for Chemical Extraction of Antimony from Tetrahedrite-Rich Concentrate by BaS and K2S Lixiviants: Mechanism and Kinetic Studies

A Selective Method for Chemical Extraction of Antimony from Tetrahedrite-Rich Concentrate by BaS and K2S Lixiviants: Mechanism and Kinetic Studies

Экстракция сурьмы (III) производным 1,2,4-триазола из солянокислых растворов и определение условий отделения Sb (III) от Bi (III)

The extraction of antimony (III) from hydrochloric acid solutions with 1-[2-(2,4-dichlorophenyl)-4- propyl-1,3-dioxolan-2-yl]-1H-1,2,4-triazole was studied. Optimal extraction conditions are found. It is assumed that antimony (III) is extracted by the anion exchange mechanism at a phase contact time of 5 min. The extractable antimo- ny (III) chlorocomplex was isolated and characterized by electron, IR spectroscopy and elemental analysis. The re- extraction and concentration of antimony (III) from hydrochloric acid solutions has been studied. The possibility of separating antimony (III) from bismuth (III) is shown.

Extraction of Antimony from Hydrochloric Acid Side Stream of Copper Electrorefining by Hydrolysis

Extraction of Antimony from Hydrochloric Acid Side Stream of Copper Electrorefining by Hydrolysis

Effect of flotation and potassium hydroxide pretreatment of an antimonial refractory ore on the extraction of silver by cyanidation

In this study, potassium hydroxide leaching as pretreatment before cyanide leaching of a flotation concentrate of an antimonial refractory gold-silver ore was investigated. The ore assaying 1157 g/t Ag and 3.96 g/t Au was found to be composed of predominantly quartz, barite, kaolinite, clay, mica/chlorite, and dolomite/ankerite. Electrum, pyrargyrite, acanthite, and tetrahedrite were identified to be the most important silver-bearing phases in the ore. A flotation concentrate with a high silver grade (0.6% Ag) at 94.8% silver recovery, as well as high recoveries of antimony (86.8%), zinc (98.6%), and lead (84.7%), was produced in flotation tests. Gold recovery to the concentrate was limited to be 74.4%. The cyanide leaching of the concentrate has yielded consistently low extractions of silver (≤13.8%) confirming the refractory nature of the ore. Alkaline pretreatment of the concentrate was performed in which effects of potassium hydroxide concentration (0.05–3 mol/L) and temperature (20–80 °C) on the removal of antimony and subsequent cyanide leaching of silver were investigated. Extraction of antimony was substantially enhanced from 11.5 to 93.8% with increasing the concentration of KOH and temperature. The activation energy (Ea) for leaching of antimony was calculated to be ≈17 kJ/mol with the implication of a diffusion-controlled leaching reaction. Silver extraction in the cyanidation improved from 13.8% to 95.7% as a consequence of the removal of antimony (i.e. 93.8%) by the alkaline pretreatment. This improvement in the silver extraction can be attributed to the decomposition of silver-bearing antimonial minerals i.e. pyrargyrite, and tetrahedrite in the concentrate. These findings confirm that potassium hydroxide leaching is a suitable approach for the pretreatment of antimonial refractory silver ores.

The Novel Lixiviants for Maximizing Antimony Extraction from Tetrahedrite-Rich Concentrate: Mechanism and Kinetic Studies

ABSTRACT In this paper, the synergistic effects of novel reagents including glycine and EDTA on alkaline dissolution of tetrahedrite were fully investigated for the first time. Sample was characterized in terms of its chemical, mineralogical and morphological properties using XRD, ICP, SEM and EDS analyses. The results showed that tetrahedrite concentrate obtained from froth flotation experiment constitutes 14.04% Sb, 19.01% Cu, 5.4% Ca, 4.5% Fe, 1.8% Mg, 14.5% S, 3.08% Si and 3.67% Zn. The effects of important factors such as initial concentrations of glycine and EDTA, and leaching temperature were studied. According to the results of dissolution experiment, copper extraction was not improved with the addition of glycine and EDTA to Na2S-NaOH solution media; however, antimony extraction was remarkably enhanced. The results of kinetic studies showed that antimony dissolution data fit well to diffusion through product layer for Na2S-NaOH-glycine and surface chemical reaction for Na2S-NaOH-EDTA. Therefore, new kinetic relationships in terms of leaching and SCM parameters were developed for the first time. For antimony experiment via Na2S-NaOH-glycine, activation energy and pre-exponential factors were obtained 13.31 kJ.mol.−1 and 0.0108 min.−1 with R 2 = 99.99% and for antimony experiment via Na2S-NaOH-EDTA, these values were found to be 40.76 kJ.mol.−1 and 868.35 min.−1 with R 2 = 99.44% in temperature range between 313 and 373 K. The residual findings of this paper proved that antimony extraction improves notably when EDTA and glycine lixiviants were added into Na2S-NaOH alkaline solution, highlighting that new lixiviants’ combination effects are higher and stronger than single Na2S-NaOH solution which can bring more antimony particles from solid tetrahedrite structure into solution phase.

Clean antimony production from stibnite concentrate with goethite residue co-treatment for zinc, iron, sulfur conservation

In view of the issues of low efficiency and environmental pollution existing in current antimony production, this work proposes an innovative and cleaner process to extract antimony from stibnite concentrate and co-treat goethite residues. The mechanisms of antimony extraction and zinc, iron, sulfur conservation was thermodynamically and experimentally investigated. The results show that iron- and zinc-bearing components in the goethite residue firstly reacted and releasing FexOy and ZnO, then stibnite (Sb2S3) quickly converted to senarmontite (Sb2O3) in the presence of FexOy and ZnO. Intermediate Sb2O3 was subsequently reduced to metallic Sb. Bench-scale experiments of antimony extraction from stibnite concentrate with goethite residue as sulfur-fixing agent validated that 85.7% of Sb was directly recovered as crude antimony bullion, only around 7.4% antimony volatilized to fume. Pb, As, Au, and Ag tended to also be co-enriched in the bullion. 97.4% of sulfur, 88.8% of zinc and 86.1% of iron were recovered and fixed simultaneously. Sulfur in Sb2S3, iron and zinc contained in goethite residues was conserved in matte as marketable Fe2Zn3S5, FeS, and ZnS, instead of forming gaseous SO2. This novel process is a promising recycling and co-treatment alternative for various secondary iron- and zinc-containing materials.

Extraction of Antimony(III) Ions from Solutions by Sorbents Based on Titanium(IV) Compounds

Sorbents based on titanium(IV) compounds have been shown to be potentially attractive for quantitative removal of antimony(III) anions from liquid radioactive waste with complex chemical composition. Evidence is presented that titanium(IV) oxyhydroxyphosphates have enhanced affinity for antimony(III) cations. Selectivity of sorption matrices increases with increasing solution acidity and with an increase in the concentration of hydrogen phosphate groups in the composition of the material. Having enhanced affinity for negatively charged antimony(III) ions, titanium(IV) oxyhydroxides are potentially attractive for extraction of anionic species.

Processing of gold-antimony concentrates

This paper describes the results of a study that looked at processing of goldantimony concentrates with selective extraction of antimony and gold as commodities. The common global practice of processing antimony sulphide concentrates (20–30% Sb) is based on alkaline sulphide leaching followed by precipitation of metallic antimony by electrowinning. However, application of this technique to process sulphide concentrates that, apart from antimony, also contain gold, can be difficult as, together with antimony, up to 10–15% of gold can leach to the solution. It takes a special process during final refining of cathode antimony to recover that gold. This paper describes a process that involves two stages of atmospheric leaching of antimony. The gold that leached to the solution is precipitated with zinc after the first stage of antimony leaching. Together with atmospheric leach tailings, it then goes to the pressure oxidation unit. This process helps oxidize the rest of the sulphides and release refractory gold. The resultant cake is processed following a standard sorption cyanidation technique. The paper looks at the antimony leaching rate and the rate at which gold leaches to the solution during this process. The paper describes the results of selective precipitation of gold from gold-antimony solutions and highlights certain features of this process. A series of tests was conducted to test the techniques of pressure oxidation of atmospheric leach tailings and cyanidation of the residue. The paper also describes a process that was developed for processing of goldantimony concentrates and precipitation of antimony and gold. An antimony recovery exceeding 90–95% can be achieved when using this process. At the same time, the percent of dissolved gold can be reduced from 10–15 tо 1–3%.

Efficient extraction of antimony(III) by titanate nanosheets: Study on adsorption behavior and mechanism

Antimony has been listed as a critical pollutant in many countries because of its toxic effects on earth organisms. In this study, titanate nanosheets (TNS) were prepared with a high specific surface area by alkaline hydrothermal method. The adsorption mechanism and adsorption capacity of removing Sb(III) from aqueous solutions with TNS as an adsorbent were investigated for the first time. The FTIR and XPS analysis indicated that the interlayer sodium ions of TNS were responsible for Sb(III) adsorption. The batch experiments were conducted on solution pH, adsorbent dosage, initial concentration and reaction time. The results exhibited that when pH was 2, the removal rate was about 90% with the dosage of TNS was 0.1 g/L. The adsorption reaction was exceedingly rapid in the initial 5 min, and then the reaction was in equilibrium after about 30 min. The experimental data were better fitted with Langmuir isotherm model, and the maximum adsorption amount could attain 232.56 mg/g. The experiments showed that TNS had outstanding anti-interference performance to common cations. Therefore, TNS were considered to be an excellent material for removing Sb(III) from aqueous solutions.

Investigation of Alkaline Leaching Parameters on Stibnite Concentrate

According to critical statistical studies, antimony is one of the rarest elements in the world, and global resources could be exhausted by 2050. In light of these observations, its extraction will be costly due to poor-quality ore, deep mining, remote locations, and high energy consumption. In the present study, an alkaline leaching process was carried out on stibnite concentrate to evaluate the effect of reaction parameters on the percentage of antimony extraction. The leaching efficiencies of different sulfur and hydroxide sources were studied and compared to one another to create a better understanding of the reaction process. Kinetic models were investigated to identify the reaction pathway and calculate the activation energy. The activation energy of the stibnite dissolution was assessed as 19.13 kJ/mol using a two-dimensional diffusion-reaction model. The value of activation energy indicates the quantity of energy necessary for a reaction to proceed. As expected, potassium hydroxide leaching was significantly more successful than was sodium hydroxide; however, in terms of economics, the use of sodium hydroxide was found to be more cost-efficient. Interestingly, this finding indicated that caustic leaching is still the most effective method for stibnite extraction.