Accelerating the decarbonization of carbonaceous gold ore by suspension oxidation roasting towards the improvement of gold leaching efficiency

Eliminating the gold preg-robbing effect of carbonaceous matter in carbonaceous gold ores is crucial for gold leaching. In this study, suspension oxidation roasting was proposed to accelerate the decarbonization of carbonaceous gold ore. The characteristics of oxidation reaction process and gas release were analyzed by TG-DTA-FTIR. The phase transformation and microstructure evolution of samples during roasting were analyzed by XRD, SEM and BET. The results show that the gold preg-robbing effect was eliminated after the gasification of carbonaceous matter, and the CaO generated by decomposition of carbonates can effectively capture the SO₂. After roasting for 75 min at 650 °C in a 20% O₂ atmosphere, the total carbon removal rate reached 99.42%, the distribution of exposed gold increased from 28.85% to 77.10% and the gold leaching efficiency increased from 4.55% to 84.83%. In addition, about 70% sulfur was mainly fixed in the roasted products in the form of sulfate. Therefore, the suspension oxidation roasting process is an efficient and clean pretreatment method for carbonaceous gold ores.     

Characterisation and classification of solid wastes coming from reductive acid leaching of low-grade manganiferous ore

The present work was focused on the acid leaching process for manganese extraction in reducing environment to low-grade manganiferous ore that comes from Central Italy. The aim of this study was to establish optimum leaching operating conditions to reduce treatment costs of waste or, even better, to allow a waste valorisation as raw materials for other applications. Consequently, the main focus of the work was the characterization and classification of the solid wastes coming from the process carried out at different operating conditions; at the same moment the effect of process parameters on Mn extraction was also analysed. The effect of particles size on the manganese extraction in reductive acid leaching process was investigated, by using lactose as reducing agent. Particle size did not show a large influence on the Mn extraction yields in the investigated process conditions. This aspect suggests the use of the leaching waste for civil and/or environmental application: use of leaching solid wastes like filling material is to be applied, for example, for environmental restoration. The classification of the solid wastes, according to the Italian Laws about Release Test (RT), has demonstrated that the solid waste produced by leaching can be classifiable as "hazardous special waste". An improvement of solid washing let to reduce the SO(4)(2-) and an appropriate treatment is necessary to reduce the dangerousness of these solids. Possible application of ore and waste as raw materials in the ceramic industry was demonstrated not to be feasible.     

A primary study of simultaneous leaching of silver containing manganese ore and a sphalerite concentrate

It is demonstrated that a low grade, silver containing manganese deposit can be exploited by reaction with a ZnS concentrate. In the process Mn(IV) is reduced to Mn(II) and the ZnS converted to ZnSO4. In the process Mn and Zn are solubilized. By studying the effects of quantity of reducing agent and sulfuric acid added and of time, temperature and liquid-to-solid ratio on the leaching process, the optimum technological conditions have been achieved under which the amount of manganese leached was 98%. The silver can be removed from remaining solids by adding ammonia liquor. By then adding hydrazine hydrate, sponge silver with purity up to 99% can be obtained with a recovery of 87%.     

响应曲面法优化硫脲浸出烧结灰中银的工艺研究

以炼铁烧结机头除尘灰(烧结灰)为实验原料,通过XRF、XRD、SEM-EDS手段对原料进行表征,采用酸性硫脲法浸出烧结灰提取银。在单因素实验的基础上,使用响应曲面法(RSM)对烧结灰中提取银的工艺条件进行优化,以炼铁烧结灰中银的浸出率为响应值,选取对硫脲浸出烧结灰提银过程有显著影响的变量(反应温度、硫脲浓度、浸出时间)作为考察因素,采用Central Composite Design(CCD)中心设计方案以三因素五水平设计实验,得到最优的提银工艺条件,并获得拟合度高的二阶多项式模型。结果表明:硫脲浸出烧结灰中银的最佳工艺为反应温度50℃、硫脲浓度22g/L、浸出时间90min;在最佳提取条件下,银浸出率的模型预测值为89.38%,实验真实银的浸出率为89.9%,其相对误差为0.52%,表明实际值与模型预测值接近,可用于预测烧结灰提取银的浸出过程。     

化探样品中的痕量金测定方法的改进

以1+1王水、加入一定量FeCl3溶液,对化探样品进行加热分解1h.经泡沫塑料吸附后,于90℃以上1％硫脲溶液中解吸30 min,然后采用石墨炉原子吸收光谱仪测定其中的金含量.其中对仪器分析条件进行了优化.金的质量分数在0.10～ 20.0 ng/g范围内与吸光度呈良好的线性,方法标准曲线线性相关系数为0.9993,检...     

Upgrading of low-grade gold ore samples for improved particle characterisation using Micro-CT and SEM/EDX

There is a considerable challenge in accurate characterisation of gold (Au) particles in low-grade plant ore mineral samples. This is particularly true for automated mineralogical tools such as X-ray micro-computed tomography (Micro-CT) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), where the need for statistically meaningful numbers of particles requires many sections to be analysed. Whiles the Vertical Gas Stream (VGS) elutriator is suitable for coarse particle upgrading (i.e. >38 μm), the performance is poor for finer particles (i.e. <38 μm). Consequently, the system has been modified to Vertical Water Stream (VWS) elutriator using higher density fluid (i.e. water) to enable analysis of Au particles below 38 μm. In this work, the VGS system was used to upgrade Au particles in the ?53 + 38 μm size fraction (in rougher concentrate, rougher tailings, regrind mill discharge and regrind cyclone underflow) and the VWS system was used to upgrade Au particles in the ?38 μm size fraction of the regrind mill discharge sample. The VWS elutriator was calibrated using galena (specific gravity, S.G. of 7.58) and quartz (S.G. of 2.65) particles of <38 μm size as model minerals. From the calibration tests, partition curves as a function of particle size were generated. Using these measurements, theoretical partition curves for Au (S.G. of 19.3) have been calculated. The VWS concentrate was characterised using Micro-CT and compared with SEM coupled with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis of ?53 + 38 μm ore size fraction of the VGS concentrate of the four sample streams. The Micro-CT analysis of VWS Au concentrate showed that sufficient particles (Au) can be upgraded. SEM/EDX results indicate that regrind does not affect changes in free Au particle morphology, aspect ratio and frequency of shearing damage in the ?53 + 38 μm size fraction. Cyclone classification of the regrind mill discharge in the ?53 + 38 μm size fraction appears to perform surface cleaning by exposing obscuring silver (Ag) surfaces on Au particles in the mill discharge sample.     

Nucleation studies in supersaturated aqueous solutions of urea and thiourea doped with inorganic dopants

Induction periods were measured for various supersaturated aqueous solutions of urea doped separately with NH₄NO₃ and NaNO₃ and thiourea doped separately with NaCl and KCI by the direct vision method. Based on classical theory for homogeneous crystal nucleation various critical nucleation parameters were calculated and the results are reported and discussed. In all the cases, the critical nucleation parameters increased with increase in doping concentration.     

Beneficiation of low-grade iron ore fines by multi-gravity separator (MGS) using optimization studies

There is an urgent need for development of environmental friendly processes through which iron ore fines can be beneficiated and utilized effectively. For processing of low-grade iron ores, ground to finer size necessitates the use of centrifugal force. This is because the settling rate of the particles in centrifugal force is 500–600 times more than that noticed for the nominal gravitational force. Multi-gravity separator (MGS) is the one such unit used for recovering hematitic fines without addition of chemicals. In the present article, an approach has been made to beneficiate low-grade hematitic iron ore of Jilling mine, Odisha, India, using MGS. The effect of three important variables was studied and their influences were analyzed through statistical approach to optimize grade, recovery, and separation efficiency. Use of response surface methodology (RSM) based on Box–Behnken design has also been adopted for analysis purpose. The results obtained indicate that it is possible to beneficiate low-grade hematitic iron ore from a feed of 50.74% Fe to 65.11% Fe with an acceptable recovery of 71.88%. Optimization of process variables was done for each response, optimized independently irrespective of other responses. Further optimization of the variables was carried out with a multi-objective target.     

Development and evaluation of fluorescent gold nanoparticles

Objective: It is difficult to identify the gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) intracellularly due to their non-fluorescent nature. Although gold can quench the fluorescence of any fluorophore, hence it is also difficult to combine gold with a fluorophore such as a semiconductor quantum dots (QDs). The aim of this study was to prepare a single fluorescent stable AuNPs combined with QDs (QDs-Au-NPs) which can be easily detected intracellularly.

Methods: QDs-Au-NPs were prepared via a simple one-step process through controlling the spacing between them using polyethylene glycol (PEG) as space linker in the form of PEGylated QDs. Furthermore, the applicability of this system was evaluated after coating the particles with somatostatin citrate, SST, to active target somatostatin receptors (SSTRs), and identification of the internalized particles via confocal laser scanning spectroscopy.

Results: The results showed that the produced Au shell has a thickness of 2.0?±?0.2?nm and QDs-Au-NPs showed the same fluorescence intensity compared to the unmodified QDs. Additionally, a stable monodisperse QDs-Au-NPs coated with SST were prepared after coating with 11-Mercaptoundecanoic acid. Moreover, cellular uptake study in Human Caucasian breast adenocarcinoma cell lines showed that QDs-Au-SST-NPs could be detected easily using the confocal microscope. In addition, they showed a significant (p?≤?.05) internalization per cell compared to untreated QDs-Au-NPs as detected by flow cytometry.

Conclusion: It could be concluded that the produced QDs-Au-NPs has a strong fluorescence property like QDs which enable them to be easily detected after cells internalization.     

铜阳极泥预处理连续加压酸浸工艺开发研究

介绍了新开发出来的一种具有较好工业应用前景的铜阳极泥预处理新工艺,小型及半工业试验结果表明,铜阳极泥直接加压酸浸,可以充分利用生阳极泥中水溶性铜离子的催化氧化作用,提高反应速度;在连续浸出过程中Ag,se,Te走向与间断浸出过程差别明显,使浸出效果优于间断加压浸出预处理工艺,有利于提高有价元素的综合回收.     

Scalable routes to gold nanoshells with tunable sizes and response to near-infrared pulsed-laser irradiation

A simplified synthesis of hollow gold nanoshells 20-50 nm in diameter via the well-established templated galvanic replacement reaction of silver for gold is presented. The surface plasmon resonance absorbance of the nanoshells is tuned using basic colloid chemistry to control the size of the silver templates. The gold nanoshells have an aqueous core and are varied in size and shell thickness depending on the silver/gold reagent ratios. The template replacement chemistry is rapid, highly scalable, uses minimal amounts of toxic reagents, and in many cases is a true one-pot synthesis. The smallest nanoshells (20-nm diameter, 7-nm wall thickness) reach the highest temperature on irradiation with femtosecond light pulses in the near infrared and anneal to form spherical nanoparticles fastest, even though their plasmon resonance does not overlap as well as the larger nanoshells (50-nm diameter, 7-nm wall thickness) with 800-nm wavelength excitation.     

Production of chelating compounds by yeasts in a microbial copper leaching system and its practical implications

A yeastRhodotorula glutinis repeatedly isolated from microbial copper leaching system increased the iron oxidation rate and the copper extraction efficiency of the process. It is proved that yeast could produce hydroxamate type chelating compounds, the practical implications of which are discussed.     

The effect of size and shape of gold nanoparticles on thin film properties

This work describes the properties of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) thin film on silicon (Si) substrates. The AuNPs can be divided into two major shapes: gold nanospheres (AuNSs) and gold nanorods (AuNRs). Two sizes of AuNSs (15 nm and 30 nm) and three aspect ratios of AuNRs (3.12, 3.39 and 3.60) were synthesised using the seeding-growth method. The AuNPs produced were deposited on Si substrates by using a spin-coating method followed by heat treatment at 200 °C. The number of AuNPs coatings varied as one, three and five coating depositions, respectively. From the field emission scanning electron microscopy, the AuNPs were uniformly distributed on the Si substrate surface. The AuNPs distribution increased with increasing number of AuNPs coating. Various deposited AuNPs with different shapes and sizes were analysed using current–voltage (I–V) measurement in light–dark conditions. The results showed that the resistance of samples became lower under light condition as the number of AuNPs coatings increased on the Si substrate due to the large amount of AuNPs particles, which had better properties in absorbing and scattering the light intensity. Among these samples, five-coating depositions of 15 nm AuNSs and 3.12 aspect ratio of AuNRs thin films gave the best sensitivity in light–dark condition. The higher sensitivity implied the better sensing and recovery properties since it can amplify a small signal from the same light source power/intensity.     

Effects of particle size and acid addition on the remediation of chromite ore processing residue using ferrous sulfate

A bench-scale treatability study was conducted to assess the effects of particle size and acid addition on the remediation of chromite ore processing residue (COPR) using ferrous sulfate. The remediation scheme entailed the chemical reduction of hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] and the mitigation of swell potential. Leaching tests and the EQ3/6 geochemical model were used to estimate the acid dosage required to destabilize Cr(VI)-bearing and swell-causing minerals. The model predicted greater acid dosage than that estimated from the batch leaching tests. This indicated that mass transfer limitation may be playing a significant role in impeding the dissolution of COPR minerals following acid addition and hence hindering the remediation of COPR. Cr(VI) concentrations determined by alkaline digestion for the treated samples were less than the current NJDEP standard. However, Cr(VI) concentrations measured by X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) were greater than those measured by alkaline digestion. Greater Cr(VI) percentages were reduced for acid pretreated and also for smaller particle size COPR samples. Upon treatment, brownmillerite content was greatly reduced for the acid pretreated samples. Conversely, ettringite, a swell-causing mineral, was not observed in the treated COPR.     

Ionogel-templated synthesis and organization of anisotropic gold nanoparticles

Photochemical reduction of tetrachloroaurate (AuCl4-) ions in the highly constrained aqueous domains of a nanostructured ionogel template, formed via self-assembly of the ionic liquid 1-decyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (C10mim+Cl-) in water, results in the formation of anisotropic gold nanoparticles with a variety of sizes and morphologies, which include previously unattainable trigonal prismatic nanorods. Unexpectedly, small-angle X-ray scattering studies of the Au-ionogel composite reveal that the in situ formation of the nanoparticles increases the mesoscopic order of the ionogel, which results in its conversion to a near-monodomain structure. The findings demonstrate that nanostructured, ionic liquid-based gels can be used to template the formation of new nanoparticle morphologies with technologically important optical, electronic, and catalytic properties. It may also be possible to design soft templates that permit the fabrication of highly ordered nanoparticle array-hydrogel composites, thereby enabling control and tuning of the collective properties of the encapsulated nanoparticles.     

Cleaning of waste smelter slags and recovery of valuable metals by pressure oxidative leaching

Huge quantities of slag, a waste solid product of pyrometallurgical operations by the metals industry are dumped continuously around the world, posing a potential environmental threat due to entrained values of base metals and sulfur. High temperature pressure oxidative acid leaching of nickel smelter slags was investigated as a process to facilitate slag cleaning and selective dissolution of base metals for economic recovery. Five key parameters, namely temperature, acid addition, oxygen overpressure, solids loading and particle size, were examined on the process performance. Base metal recoveries, acid and oxygen consumptions were accurately measured, and ferrous/ferric iron concentrations were also determined. A highly selective leaching of valuable metals with extractions of >99% for nickel and cobalt, >97% for copper, >91% for zinc and <2.2% for iron was successfully achieved for 20 wt.% acid addition and 25% solids loading at 200-300 kPa O(2) overpressure at 250 degrees C in 2h. The acid consumption was measured to be 38.5 kg H(2)SO(4)/t slag and the oxygen consumption was determined as 84 kg O(2)/t slag which is consistent with the estimated theoretical oxygen consumption. The as-produced residue containing less than 0.01% of base metals, hematite and virtually zero sulfidic sulfur seems to be suitable for safe disposal. The process seems to be able to claim economic recovery of base metals from slags and is reliable and feasible.     

二硫苏糖醇引导的金纳米棒二聚体的制备与表征

为了制备一种形状可控的金纳米棒(AuNR)二聚体结构,在十二烷基磺酸钠(SDS)表面活性剂存在的情况下,通过控制二硫苏糖醇(DTT)与单巯基脱氧核糖核酸(DNADNA)的分子比,并选择在不同的时间点修饰DNA,再共同混合作用于单分散的金纳米棒来实现。琼脂糖凝胶电泳(AGE)结果表明,胶图上能看到理想的二聚体条带。通过紫外-可见分光光度计和低压透射电镜对产物的进一步分析,表明在DTT与DNA同时作用金纳米棒时,组装产物为肩并肩型的金纳米棒二聚体结构;在DTT先与金纳米棒作用,再加盐老化修饰DNA时,组装产物为头碰头型的金纳米棒二聚体结构。表征结果充分证明了实验策略的可行性。     

Tuning Cellular Response to Nanoparticles via Surface Chemistry and Aggregation

The aggregation of gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) in cell media is a common phenomenon that can influence NP‐cell interactions. Here, we control Au NP aggregation in cell media and study the impact of Au NP aggregation on human dermal fibroblast (HDF) cells. By first adding Au NPs to fetal bovine serum (FBS) and then subsequently to a buffer, aggregation can be avoided. Aggregation of Au NPs also can be avoided by coating Au NPs with other biomolecules such as lipids. The aggregation state of the Au NPs influences cellular toxicity and Au NP uptake: non‐aggregated cationic Au NPs are four‐fold less toxic to HDF cells than aggregated cationic Au NPs, and the uptake of non‐aggregated anionic citrate Au NPs is three orders of magnitude less than that of aggregated citrate Au NPs. Upon uptake of Au NPs, cellular F‐actin fiber formation is disrupted and actin dots are predominant. When lipid‐coated Au NPs are doped with a fluorescent lipid (F‐lipid) and incubated with HDF cells, the fluorescence from the F‐lipid was found throughout the cell, showing that lipids can dissociate from the Au NP surface upon entering the cell.