Ultrasonic-assisted leaching kinetics in aqueous FeCl3-HCl solution for the recovery of copper by hydrometallurgy from poorly soluble chalcopyrite

We studied the ultrasonic effect on the leaching of copper from poorly soluble chalcopyrite (CuFeS₂) mineral in aqueous FeCl₃ solution. The leaching experiment employed two methods, basic leaching and ultrasonic-assisted leaching, and was conducted under the optimized experimental conditions: a slurry density of 20 g/L in 0.1M FeCl₃ reactant in a solution of 0.1M HCl, with an agitation speed of 500 rpm and in the temperature range of 50 to 99 °C. The maximum yield obtained from the optimized basic leaching was 77%, and ultrasonic-assisted leaching increased the maximum copper recovery to 87% under the same conditions of basic leaching. In terms of the leaching mechanism, the overall reaction rate of basic leaching is determined by the diffusion of both the product and ash layers based on a shrinking core model with a constant spherical particle; however, in the case of ultrasonic-assisted leaching, the leaching rate is determined by diffusion of the ash layer only by the removal of sulfur adsorbed on the surface of chalcopyrite mineral.