Kinetics of Sphalerite Leaching by MnO<sub>2</sub>-KI Oxidation System in Sulfuric Acid
Efficient extraction of zinc from polymetallic concentrates is crucial for the metallurgical industry. Traditional leaching techniques often rely on strong oxidizing agents, which can be wasteful and environmentally harmful. While cyclic oxidation systems like the Fe<sup>3</sup><sup&g...
Saved in:
Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-01-01
|
Series: | Metals |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/15/1/50 |
Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
_version_ | 1832587939669868544 |
---|---|
author | Mladen Bugarčić Aleksandar Jovanović Dimitrije Anđić Ivana Jelić Milica Miletić Branislav Marković Miroslav Sokić |
author_facet | Mladen Bugarčić Aleksandar Jovanović Dimitrije Anđić Ivana Jelić Milica Miletić Branislav Marković Miroslav Sokić |
author_sort | Mladen Bugarčić |
collection | DOAJ |
description | Efficient extraction of zinc from polymetallic concentrates is crucial for the metallurgical industry. Traditional leaching techniques often rely on strong oxidizing agents, which can be wasteful and environmentally harmful. While cyclic oxidation systems like the Fe<sup>3</sup><sup>+</sup>/Fe<sup>2</sup><sup>+</sup> pair are known, they often fail to achieve high leaching rates, especially when the raw material contains multiple sulfide minerals. In this study, we developed a novel oxidation system using manganese dioxide (MnO<sub>2</sub>) as the primary oxidizing agent and potassium iodide (KI) as a supporting material to create an I<sub>2</sub>/I<sup>−</sup> oxidation cycle in a sulfuric acid medium, at an atmospheric pressure between 40 °C and 80 °C. Leaching experiments were conducted under varying temperatures and KI doses. The results demonstrated that for the MnO<sub>2</sub>-KI system, a zinc leaching degree of 89.78% was achieved after 3 h of leaching at 80 °C, and kinetic studies indicated that the leaching process is diffusion-controlled (through the thin film), with an activation energy of 27.65 kJ mol<sup>−1</sup>. Moreover, this system offers an improved method for separating iodine from the leachate upon completion, enhancing the overall process efficiency. It also opens opportunities to test other primary oxidizing agents in combination with iodide salts. These findings suggest that the MnO<sub>2</sub>-KI oxidation system offers a promising approach for improving zinc recovery from sphalerite concentrates. |
format | Article |
id | doaj-art-a192be0eebaf417db3f00bcc0ca6df99 |
institution | Kabale University |
issn | 2075-4701 |
language | English |
publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
publisher | MDPI AG |
record_format | Article |
series | Metals |
spelling | doaj-art-a192be0eebaf417db3f00bcc0ca6df992025-01-24T13:41:31ZengMDPI AGMetals2075-47012025-01-011515010.3390/met15010050Kinetics of Sphalerite Leaching by MnO<sub>2</sub>-KI Oxidation System in Sulfuric AcidMladen Bugarčić0Aleksandar Jovanović1Dimitrije Anđić2Ivana Jelić3Milica Miletić4Branislav Marković5Miroslav Sokić6Institute for Technology of Nuclear and Other Mineral Raw Materials, Boulevard Franše d’Eperea 86, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaInstitute for Technology of Nuclear and Other Mineral Raw Materials, Boulevard Franše d’Eperea 86, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaInstitute for Technology of Nuclear and Other Mineral Raw Materials, Boulevard Franše d’Eperea 86, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaInstitute for Technology of Nuclear and Other Mineral Raw Materials, Boulevard Franše d’Eperea 86, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaInstitute for Technology of Nuclear and Other Mineral Raw Materials, Boulevard Franše d’Eperea 86, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaInstitute for Technology of Nuclear and Other Mineral Raw Materials, Boulevard Franše d’Eperea 86, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaInstitute for Technology of Nuclear and Other Mineral Raw Materials, Boulevard Franše d’Eperea 86, 11000 Belgrade, SerbiaEfficient extraction of zinc from polymetallic concentrates is crucial for the metallurgical industry. Traditional leaching techniques often rely on strong oxidizing agents, which can be wasteful and environmentally harmful. While cyclic oxidation systems like the Fe<sup>3</sup><sup>+</sup>/Fe<sup>2</sup><sup>+</sup> pair are known, they often fail to achieve high leaching rates, especially when the raw material contains multiple sulfide minerals. In this study, we developed a novel oxidation system using manganese dioxide (MnO<sub>2</sub>) as the primary oxidizing agent and potassium iodide (KI) as a supporting material to create an I<sub>2</sub>/I<sup>−</sup> oxidation cycle in a sulfuric acid medium, at an atmospheric pressure between 40 °C and 80 °C. Leaching experiments were conducted under varying temperatures and KI doses. The results demonstrated that for the MnO<sub>2</sub>-KI system, a zinc leaching degree of 89.78% was achieved after 3 h of leaching at 80 °C, and kinetic studies indicated that the leaching process is diffusion-controlled (through the thin film), with an activation energy of 27.65 kJ mol<sup>−1</sup>. Moreover, this system offers an improved method for separating iodine from the leachate upon completion, enhancing the overall process efficiency. It also opens opportunities to test other primary oxidizing agents in combination with iodide salts. These findings suggest that the MnO<sub>2</sub>-KI oxidation system offers a promising approach for improving zinc recovery from sphalerite concentrates.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/15/1/50I<sub>2</sub>/I<sup>−</sup> cyclepolymetallic materialszinc extractionsulfide oxidationsphalerite |
spellingShingle | Mladen Bugarčić Aleksandar Jovanović Dimitrije Anđić Ivana Jelić Milica Miletić Branislav Marković Miroslav Sokić Kinetics of Sphalerite Leaching by MnO<sub>2</sub>-KI Oxidation System in Sulfuric Acid Metals I<sub>2</sub>/I<sup>−</sup> cycle polymetallic materials zinc extraction sulfide oxidation sphalerite |
title | Kinetics of Sphalerite Leaching by MnO<sub>2</sub>-KI Oxidation System in Sulfuric Acid |
title_full | Kinetics of Sphalerite Leaching by MnO<sub>2</sub>-KI Oxidation System in Sulfuric Acid |
title_fullStr | Kinetics of Sphalerite Leaching by MnO<sub>2</sub>-KI Oxidation System in Sulfuric Acid |
title_full_unstemmed | Kinetics of Sphalerite Leaching by MnO<sub>2</sub>-KI Oxidation System in Sulfuric Acid |
title_short | Kinetics of Sphalerite Leaching by MnO<sub>2</sub>-KI Oxidation System in Sulfuric Acid |
title_sort | kinetics of sphalerite leaching by mno sub 2 sub ki oxidation system in sulfuric acid |
topic | I<sub>2</sub>/I<sup>−</sup> cycle polymetallic materials zinc extraction sulfide oxidation sphalerite |
url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4701/15/1/50 |
work_keys_str_mv | AT mladenbugarcic kineticsofsphaleriteleachingbymnosub2subkioxidationsysteminsulfuricacid AT aleksandarjovanovic kineticsofsphaleriteleachingbymnosub2subkioxidationsysteminsulfuricacid AT dimitrijeanđic kineticsofsphaleriteleachingbymnosub2subkioxidationsysteminsulfuricacid AT ivanajelic kineticsofsphaleriteleachingbymnosub2subkioxidationsysteminsulfuricacid AT milicamiletic kineticsofsphaleriteleachingbymnosub2subkioxidationsysteminsulfuricacid AT branislavmarkovic kineticsofsphaleriteleachingbymnosub2subkioxidationsysteminsulfuricacid AT miroslavsokic kineticsofsphaleriteleachingbymnosub2subkioxidationsysteminsulfuricacid |