Kinetics of bornite leaching in the presence of glycine

Abstract

Improving hydrometallurgical methods for processing copper-containing sulfide natural materials is an urgent task due to the increasing environmental problems, depletion and complexity of the composition of processed raw materials. The kinetic regularities of the process of extracting copper into solution from the solid phase of bornite by alkaline solutions of glycine and hydrogen peroxide are investigated. The kinetics was studied at room temperature and a concentration of 0.1 M hydrogen peroxide. The glycine concentration varied from 0.1 to 1.0 M. In the studied pH range of the medium (8÷11), glycine exists in the form of glycinate anions that react with Cu²⁺ ions to form a stable copper (II) glycinate, which contributes to the effective extraction of copper from the mineral into the solution. The introduction of an oxidizer – hydrogen peroxide into the system significantly increased the extraction of Cu²⁺ ions into the solution. The degree of extraction of copper from bornite in the first 10 minutes varied in the range from 29 to 37 %. The results of the conducted studies allow us to consider alkaline solutions of glycine and hydrogen peroxide as a promising solvent reagent for leaching copper from sulfide mineral raw materials.