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...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Mladen Bugarčić, Aleksandar Jovanović, Dimitrije Anđić, Ivana Jelić, Milica Miletić, Branislav Marković, Miroslav Sokić
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