Adsorption of Mercury from a Cyanide Leaching Solution Using Various Activation Rates of Granular Activated Carbon: A Laboratory- and Industrial-Scale Study

Sina Bastami, Sina Ghassa, Amin Seyedhakimi and Saeed Chehreh Chelgani
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Sina Bastami: Department of Mining Engineering, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran 16846-13114, Iran
Sina Ghassa: School of Mining, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran 16846-13114, Iran
Amin Seyedhakimi: Department of Mining Engineering, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran 16846-13114, Iran
Saeed Chehreh Chelgani: Minerals and Metallurgical Engineering, Dept. of Civil, Environmental and Natural Resources Engineering, Luleå University of Technology, SE-971 87 Luleå, Sweden

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 8, 1-10

Abstract: The use of granular activated carbon (GAC) is a typical and sustainable technique for recovering precious metals from a cyanide leaching solution (CLS). The level of GAC activity is a fundamental factor in assessing the rate of precious metal adsorption; thus, it is essential to determine the efficiency of carbon elution for reproducing GACs. Since mercury (Hg) adsorption plays a critical role, economically and environmentally, in GAC efficiency, we conducted various laboratory and industrial experiments to explore the effect of different rates of GAC activation (10%, 35%, 70% and 100%) on Hg adsorption from CLS. Assessments of laboratory test results showed a direct relationship between the Hg adsorption and GAC activity; by increasing the GAC activity from 10% to 100%, the recovery of Hg was increased from 20% to 41%. Kinetic modeling results indicated that the Hg adsorption for all GAC activities followed chemisorption mechanisms. There was good agreement between the laboratory test results and the results of experiments on the industrial scale (that used a continuous circuit). These outcomes indicate that by increasing the frequency of carbon reactivation and using GAC with a high level of activity in the first tank, Hg desorption was meaningfully decreased and recovery was improved (for 10% GAC activity vs. 35% GAC activity, recovery was 40% vs. 90%, respectively).

Keywords: granular activated carbon activity; cyanide leaching solution; chemisorption; mercury adsorption; kinetics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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