Bioextraction of cobalt from complex metal sulfides

Conference · Fri Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1993

OSTI ID:6585955

Thompson, D L; Noah, K S; Wichlacz, P L; Torma, A E

The present study has investigated the bioleachability of naturally occurring cobaltite and synthetic cobalt sulfides using 29 pedigree and wild type'' strains of Thiobacillus ferrooxidans. On the basis of a screening test, five strains of bacteria were selected for assessing the effects of leach parameters (pH, ferrous and ferric sulfates, ammonium sulfate, bipotassium hydrogen phosphate, and substrate concentrations) on cobalt extraction from Blackbird Mine ore and concentrate. The mechanisms of cobalt extraction were explained in terms of direct and indirect modes of bacterial activity, and the chemistry involved in these processes was identified. Using various size fractions of a high-grade cobaltite, the kinetic parameters of cobalt extraction were derived for the effect of specific surface area to be V[sub m] = 376 mg dm[sup [minus]3] h[sup [minus]1] and K 1.27 m[sup 2] g[sup [minus]1].

• Research Organization: EG and G Idaho, Inc., Idaho Falls, ID (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE; DOI; USDOE, Washington, DC (United States); Department of the Interior, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC07-76ID01570
• OSTI ID: 6585955
• Report Number(s): EGG-M-93104; CONF-930815-1; ON: DE93013676; CNN: J0134035
• Resource Relation: Conference: International biohydrometallurgy symposium, Jackson Hole, WY (United States), 22-25 Aug 1993
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
COBALT
EXTRACTION
COBALT ORES
LEACHING
COBALT SULFIDES
KINETICS
SULFIDE MINERALS
THIOBACILLUS FERROXIDANS
BACILLUS
BACTERIA
CHALCOGENIDES
COBALT COMPOUNDS
DISSOLUTION
ELEMENTS
METALS
MICROORGANISMS
MINERALS
ORES
SEPARATION PROCESSES
SULFIDES
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
SULFUR-OXIDIZING BACTERIA
TRANSITION ELEMENT COMPOUNDS
TRANSITION ELEMENTS
360101* - Metals & Alloys- Preparation & Fabrication