5 MP Stripping and Regeneration

MINERAL PROCESSING COURSE
Stripping, Electrowinning & Reactivation
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Module Contents
> Elution
> Recovery from solution
> Mineral Processing > Engineering Design > Specialist Services > Simulation & Optimisation > Construction Management > Risk Management > Training
Elution
> Elution is a reverse process to adsorption
> Gold can be stripped off by disruption of thermodynamic

equilibrium between gold in solution and gold on the carbon
> Equilibrium Disruptive features:-

― High temperatures
― Lack of cations (Ca2+ , Mg2+, etc)
― High anion concentration (CN-, OH-)
History
> Zadra US Bureau Mines- Atmospheric Strip
> Pressure Zadra
> Anglo Strip- AARL
> IPS- Integrated Pressure Strip
Elution (cont.)
Carbon Movement
Acid Wash
> Acid-washing is usually performed:

― Before elution
― After elution
― After reactivation
> Purpose:
― Remove CaCO3
― To remove nickel or other base metals
― To ‘clean’ fines and slimes
― Reactivate carbon
> Acid wash solution:

― 3-5% dilute hydrochloric acid @ 70oC
Acid Washing Efficiency
ACID SOLUBILITY as a function of TEMPERATURE
100%
90%
Acid Consumption
80%
Calcium
% DISSOLVED
70%
60% Copper
50% Iron
40% Magnesium
30% Nickel
20%
Silver
10%
0%
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
ACIDING TEMPERATURE (ºC)
Elution Factors
> Factors affecting the elution process:
― Concentration of the eluant
― Ionic strength of the eluant
― Temperature
― Cyanide decomposition
Concentration
> Increase in hydroxide and cyanide increases the rate of elution
Ionic Strength
> Increase in cation concentration:
– Partly neutralises the eluant solution
– Decreases the number of available sites for gold cyanide desorption
Temperature
> Greater elution at higher temperatures
Temperature (cont.)
Cyanide Decomposition
> Cyanide decomposition increases with temperature

> Chemical Formula:  
CN  2 H 2 O  NH 3  HCO2
 2
HCO2  OH   CO3  H2
2
CO3  H 2 O  CO2  2OH
Zadra Process
Zadra Process (cont.)
> Loaded carbon treatment:
― 1% sodium hydroxide
― 0.2 - 1.0% sodium cyanide
― 5-6 atm pressure
― 150oC
― 1-2 bed volumes per hour (Flowrate)
― 6 hours operation
― 33% eluant bleed off
AARL
> Anglo American Research Laboratory (AARL)
AARL (cont.)
> Presoaking
― 2-5% sodium cyanide

― 1-3% sodium hydroxide solution
― 0.5-1 bed volume per hour
― 1 hour
> Elution
― Pure water elution

― 1 atm pressure
― 110oC
― 8 bed volumes per hour (Flow rate)
― 8-12 hours operation
AARL (cont.)
> Batch Process
> Spent eluant is not recycled after electrowinning
> “Split" elution

― Reducing water usage
― Heating costs
― Electrowinning capacity
> The AARL process relies on the strong influence of the ionic
strength to desorb the gold cyanide from the carbon
Stripping Profile
Base of Elution Column
Organic Solvent Elution
> Solvent = Methanol
Organic Solvent Elution (cont.)
> Presoaking
― 2% caustic soda
― 10% sodium cyanide
― At 25oC
> Elution
― Hot methanol elution

― 1 atm pressure
― 4-6 hours operation
Organic Solvent Elution (cont.)
> Advantages
― Low usage of high quality water
― Kiln reactivation is not required for periods up to 6-12 months
― Running costs of a Micron system are much higher than of

ZADRA’s or AARL’s
Integrated Pressure Stripping (IPS)
> IPS involves
― Acid washing
― Stripping
― Electrolysis
Integrated Pressure Stripping (cont.)
> Carbon Washing

― 3% hydrochloric acid
― At 80oC
― 1 hour
> Carbon Rinsing

― Fresh water rinsing
> Carbon Elution

― At 130oC
― 500KPa
― 2% sodium hydroxide
― 6 hours
Integrated Pressure Stripping (cont.)
> Advantages
― No Cyanide used
― Water quality is not a limitation
― Higher temperatures
• Faster
• more efficient than pressure Zadra
― The same capital cost but lower operating cost

over time
― A reduced need for reactivation
― A safer operation as no cyanide is used
Recovery From Solution
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Recovery of Gold from Eluants
> Gold Recovered from Eluant
a) Electrowinning
b) Zinc cementation
Electrowinning
> Electrowinning is a method of gold

recovery
― Performed in cells
― Constructed of a non-conducting
material such as fibreglass or plastic
― Contains the anode and cathode
assemblages
― Passes an electric current through the
eluant
> Cathode
― Usually a cylindrical polypropylene basket
filled with steel wool
― Collects gold, hydrogen?
> Anode
― Does not collect gold
― Stainless steel
Electrowinning Cell
Winding Steel Wool On Cathodes
Electrowinning (cont.)
> Processes using Electrowinning:
― Zadra
• Zadra Cell
» draws 150 Amps at 3-4 Volts
» exhibits current efficiencies of 5-10%
― Mintek
• Mintek Cell
» requires about 300-800 Amps at up to 10 volts
» current efficiencies of 5-10%
― AARL
― Organic Solvent Elution
Zinc Sedimentation
> Precipitation process instead of electrowinning
> Method:
― Zinc dust added to the gold eluant
― Zinc dust dissolution
― Gold precipitation out of solution
Electrochemical Nature
Precipitation of Gold
> pH 10
> CN 0.1 to 16 g/L
> No oxygen
> No particulate solids (lime to flocculate solids)
> Zinc dust must be mixed with solution
> Slimes precipitated must be filtered then acid leached before

smelting
Carbon Activity Profiles
> Activated carbon must be able to adsorb gold as fast as

possible
> Activated carbon will lose activity at a constant rate due to

poisoning
> Two factors which govern the activity of the carbon:-

― High, medium or low activity procured
― Removal of poisons
Carbon Activity
CARBON ACTIVITY
Effect on Plant Performance
Plant Data
Solids Throughput: 25000 t/month
Head Grade: 5 g/t
Desired Tail Solution: < 0.01 g/t
Desired Loading: 3500 g/t
CIP Train 6 x 40 m3 Tanks
Carbon Flowrate: 1.2 t/day
Carbon Activity
High Low
Carbon
Concentration 16.4 20.6
(g/l)
Carbon
Inventory 3.9 4.9
(Tones)
Residence
Time 3.3 4.1
(Days)
Gold
Lockup 3.6 4.5
(kg) $50k $58k
(US$)
Removal of Poisons
> Removal of poisons
― Acid wash
― Regeneration/reactivation
Acid Wash
― Used to remove the scale by

converting CaCO3 to CaCl2
― Removes the base metals such as Ni,

Fe and Zn
― Destroys some cyanide complexes
― Generally undertaken prior to elution

or after regeneration
― Not recommended to acid wash

prior to regeneration as entrained
acid could damage the kiln
Regeneration
> Removes the organic poisons by simply

reversing the adsorption process
> Process reversed by heating up to 700

degree Celsius
> Carbon reactivation occurs around 700

degrees Celsius
> Steam is added for two reasons:

― to etch away pyrolized matter
caused by organics
― to provide a neutral atmosphere to
exclude oxygen
Regenerating Kiln
Reactivation
> Regeneration Steps:
― 0-200oC - Drying
― 200-500oC - Vaporisation and
Decomposition
― 500-700oC - Pyrolysis
― 700oC - Oxidation
Reactivation (cont.)
> Reactivation temperature:
― ~750°C will not greatly increase the activity of
carbon
― Above 750°C will burn away the activated
carbon
― Above 750°C the structure becomes weaker
― Carbon loss results in gold loss
> Carbon Regeneration Kiln
Kiln operating data is as follows:

Feed rate 160 kg/hr
Retention time Approx. 1 hr
Carbon temp kiln exit 670ºC
Carbon temp cooling zone exit 370ºC
Zone 1 burner temperature 820ºC
Zone 2 burner temperature 680ºC
Kiln gases temperature 680ºC
Exhaust air temperature 240ºC
Barrel drive speed 400ºC
Feed screw drive speed 300 rpm
Carbon activity 65-90% of fresh carbon
Kiln discharge is water quenched at ambient temperature prior to eduction to adsorption

circuit. Water sprays are located above kiln feed hopper to prevent feed carbon from
drying whilst being stored for extended time period before regeneration. Feeding low
moisture carbon to regeneration results is higher exhaust air temperatures.
A 12mm aperture woven wire basket is located on the kiln discharge chute to remove
sintered debris before entering the quench tank.
Smelting
Furnaces
Moulds
Fluxes
Name Formula Properties in order of their importance

Silica SiO2 Acid flux
Glass zNa2O·yCaO·zSiO2 Acid flux
Borax Na2B4O7·10H2O Acid flux
Borax-glass Na2B4O7 Acid flux
Boric acid H3BO3 Acid flux
Sodium bicarbonate NaHCO3 Basic flux, desulfurising
Sodium carbonate Na2CO3 Basic flux, desulfurising
Potassium carbonate K2CO3 Basic flux, desulfurising
Litharge PbO Basic flux, desulfurising, oxidising
Red lead Pb3O4 Basic flux, oxidising
Lime CaO Basic flux
Hematite Fe2O3 Basic flux, oxidising
Potassium nitrate KNO3 Oxidising, desulfurising
Argol KHC4H4O6 + C Reducing agent, basic flux
Cream of tartar KHC4H4O6 Reducing agent, basic flux
Flour Reducing agent
Charcoal C Reducing agent
Lead Pb Collecting agent
Iron Fe Desulfurising and reducing agent
Potassium cyanide KCN Reducing and desulfurising
Salt NaCl Cover and wash
Fluorspar CaF2 Neutral flux
Cryolite AlF3·3NaF Neutral flux
Crucibles
Gold Pour Brazil
THANK YOU
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MINERAL PROCESSING COURSE

Stripping, Electrowinning & Reactivation

Click to edit Master subtitle style

> Elution is a reverse process to adsorption

> Gold can be stripped off by disruption of thermodynamic

> Equilibrium Disruptive features:-

> Zadra US Bureau Mines- Atmospheric Strip

> Pressure Zadra

> Anglo Strip- AARL

> IPS- Integrated Pressure Strip

> Acid-washing is usually performed:

> Acid wash solution:

ACID SOLUBILITY as a function of TEMPERATURE

> Factors affecting the elution process:

― Concentration of the eluant

― Ionic strength of the eluant

> Increase in hydroxide and cyanide increases the rate of elution

> Increase in cation concentration:

– Partly neutralises the eluant solution

– Decreases the number of available sites for gold cyanide desorption

> Greater elution at higher temperatures

> Cyanide decomposition increases with temperature

> Loaded carbon treatment:

― 0.2 - 1.0% sodium cyanide

― 5-6 atm pressure

― 1-2 bed volumes per hour (Flowrate)

― 33% eluant bleed off

> Anglo American Research Laboratory (AARL)

> Loaded carbon treatment:

― 2-5% sodium cyanide

― Pure water elution

> Batch Process

> Spent eluant is not recycled after electrowinning

> “Split" elution

> Solvent = Methanol

> Loaded carbon treatment:

― Hot methanol elution

― Low usage of high quality water

― Kiln reactivation is not required for periods up to 6-12 months

― Running costs of a Micron system are much higher than of

> IPS involves

> Carbon Washing

> Carbon Rinsing

> Carbon Elution

― Water quality is not a limitation

― The same capital cost but lower operating cost

― A reduced need for reactivation

― A safer operation as no cyanide is used

Click to edit Master subtitle style

> Gold Recovered from Eluant

> Electrowinning is a method of gold

> Processes using Electrowinning:

― Organic Solvent Elution

> Precipitation process instead of electrowinning

― Zinc dust added to the gold eluant

― Zinc dust dissolution

― Gold precipitation out of solution

> CN 0.1 to 16 g/L

> No particulate solids (lime to flocculate solids)

> Zinc dust must be mixed with solution

> Slimes precipitated must be filtered then acid leached before

> Activated carbon must be able to adsorb gold as fast as

> Activated carbon will lose activity at a constant rate due to

> Two factors which govern the activity of the carbon:-