Investigation of selective leaching and kinetics of copper from malachite ore in aqueous perchloric acid solutions

In this study, the leaching kinetics of malachite in perchloric acid solutions was investigated. The dissolution behaviors of copper, zinc, and iron in the ore matrix were determined at different acid concentrations and reaction temperatures. It was observed that the concentration of perchloric acid had a major effect on the dissolution of copper, zinc, and iron. It was determined that the effect of temperature on the dissolution of these species was not as significant as concentration impact. The results obtained shown that copper in the ore matrix was completely leached while zinc and iron were partially dissolved in perchloric acid solutions. In addition, the effects of the acid concentration, reaction temperature, stirring speed, particle size, and solid-to-liquid ratio on the leaching of malachite were researched. In these experiments, it was observed that the leaching rate of copper increased with increasing solution concentration, stirring speed, and reaction temperature, and with decreasing solid-to-liquid ratio and particle size. A kinetic analysis was performed, and it was found that the rate of leaching reaction obeyed the mixed kinetic control model in the unsteady state. The activation energy of the leaching process was calculated to be 34.69 kJ/mol.