Oxidation of Pyrite Using Ozone Micro-Nano Bubbles

Pyrite, a mineral associated with uranium ore, is closely related to uranium leaching. In this study, Ozone micro-nano bubbles (OMNBs), as an environmentally friendly advanced oxidation technology, were used for the first time to oxidize pyrite under experimental conditions to improve the leaching r...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Minerals & metallurgical processing 2022-04, Vol.39 (2), p.709-719
Main Authors: Zhang, Rui, Wang, Hongqiang, Hu, Eming, Lei, Zhiwu, Hu, Fang, Hou, Wei, Wang, Qingliang
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acid leaching
Bubbles
Engineering
Gas flow
In situ leaching
Iron
Manganese
Materials Engineering
Metallic Materials
Mineral Resources
Oxidation
Oxidation rate
Oxidizing agents
Ozone
Photoelectrons
Pyrite
Uranium
Uranium ores
X ray photoelectron spectroscopy
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Pyrite, a mineral associated with uranium ore, is closely related to uranium leaching. In this study, Ozone micro-nano bubbles (OMNBs), as an environmentally friendly advanced oxidation technology, were used for the first time to oxidize pyrite under experimental conditions to improve the leaching rate of uranium. A laboratory-scale agitation leaching experiment of pyrite was carried out with a pH of 1.0–3.0, gas flow of 1–3 L/min, ozone generation rate of 0.55–2.22 mg/s, and pyrite concentration of 0.1–5.0 g/L for 1 h. By adding three different co-oxidant: Mn(II), Mn(IV), and Fe(III), it was found that only Mn(IV) increased the oxidation rate of pyrite by 21.7%. The results of the scanning electron microscope (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) show that the formation of Fe(III)-O film on the surface of the ore suppresses the oxidation rate of pyrite to a certain extent. Pyrite can be rapidly oxidized up to 57.6% by OMNBs, which is beneficial to uranium leaching. This method is expected to be used for in situ acid leaching of uranium with OMNBs injected into the ground. Highlights OMNBs accelerate the oxidation of pyrite compared with air, oxygen micro-nano bubbles, and ozone conventional bubbles. The increase in system acidity, gas flow, and ozone generation rate can accelerate the oxidation of pyrite by OMNBs. The excessively high concentration of iron ions in the system hinders the further oxidation of pyrite to a certain extent.
ISSN:2524-3462
2524-3470
DOI:10.1007/s42461-021-00528-2