Leaching

NA Zubir, Dr

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Outline
1. Definition and application

2. Principles of leaching

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3. Leaching equipment

4. Single stage calculation

5. Multi-stage calculation
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 Course Outcomes
• Upon completion of this course, students
should be able to:

• Apply separation process principles of unit

operation in solving chemical/environmental
engineering problems (C3).
• Explain the solutions of complex
chemical/environmental engineering
problems using separation process principles
(C6).
• Explain the solutions of complex
chemical/environment engineering problem
using the principles of separation process
design (C6).

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Course Learning
Outcomes
Students should be able to:

i. Explain the concept of extraction, single

stage & continuous solid-liquid
extraction (leaching) process.
ii. Calculate the equilibrium compositions
and mass flowrates of the outlet
streams, no of stages, of leaching
column for given problems.
iii. Explain the solutions of complex
chemical/environmental engineering
problems using separation process
principles (i.e. solid-liquid extraction/
leaching).

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1. Definition and application
▪ Leaching is a liquid-solid extraction. The process involves the removal of a
soluble fraction (the solute or leachant) of a solid material by a liquid solvent.

▪ The two phases are in intimate contact, the solute(s) can diffuse from the
solid to the liquid phase, which causes a separation of the components
originally in the solid.

▪ A special leaching process, when an undesirable component is removed from

a solid with water, is called washing.

▪ Factors influencing the rate of leaching/ solid-liquid extraction:

▪ Particle size.
▪ Solvent.
▪ Temperature.
▪ Agitation of the fluid.

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1. Definition and application
▪ Leaching is widely used in the metallurgical, natural product, and food industries.

Example of industrial applications of leaching include:

(1) removal of copper from ore using sulfuric acid,
(2) recovery of gold from ore using sodium-cyanide solution,
(3) extraction of sugar from sugar beets using hot water,
(4) removal of caffeine from green coffee beans using supercritical CO2, and
(5) recovery of proteins and other natural products from bacterial cells.

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2. Principles of leaching
Generally there are five steps in the leaching
process:

i. The solvent is transferred from the bulk

solution to the surface of the solid
ii. The solvent penetrates or diffuses into the
solid
iii. The solute dissolved from the solid into the
solvent Initial solid in Leached solid after
iv. The solute diffuses through the mixture to contacting with solvent contacting with solvent
the surface of the solid
v. The solute is transferred to the bulk
solution

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2. Principles of leaching
▪ Leachable solids generally undergo pretreatment before being fed to leaching equipment so that reasonable
leaching times are obtained.

▪ For example, seeds and beans are dehulled, cracked, and flaked; i.e. soybean.
▪ When vegetable and any material cannot be flaked, it may be possible to cut it into thin slices, as is done
with sugar beets prior to leaching of the sugar with water.
▪ Metallurgical ores are crushed and ground to small particles because small regions of leachable material
may be surrounded by relatively impermeable insoluble material.

▪ When leachable solids contain a high percentage of solute, pretreatment may not be necessary because
disintegration of the remaining skeleton of insoluble material takes place at the surface of the particles as
leaching progresses. When the entire solid is soluble, leaching may be rapid, such that only one stage of
extraction is required as dissolution takes place.

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3. Leaching equipment
▪ Industrial equipment for solid–liquid extraction is designed for batchwise or continuous processing.

▪ The method of contacting solids with solvent is either by percolation of solvent through a bed of solids or by
immersion of the solid in the solvent followed by agitation of the mixture.

▪ When immersion is used, countercurrent, multistage operation is common.

▪ With percolation, either a stagewise or a differential contacting device is appropriate.

▪ An extractor must be efficient to minimize the need for solvent because of the high cost of solvent recovery

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3. Leaching equipment

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4. Single stage calculation
Equilibrium relationships in leaching
▪ To analyse single – stage and countercurrent – stage leaching, an operating line equation, or material
balance relation and the equilibrium relations between the two streams are required.

▪ Assumptions made by achieving the equilibrium relations:

▪ Sufficient solvent is present so that all the solute in the entering solid dissolved in the solvent.
▪ The solute in the entering solid dissolved completely in the first stage.
▪ No adsorption of the solute by the solid.
* This means the solution in the liquid phase leaving a stage is the same as the solution that remains
with the solid matrix in the settled slurry leaving the stage.

▪ The settled solid leaving a stage always contains some liquid in which dissolved solids is present.
The solid – liquid stream is called underflow or slurry stream.

▪ Consequently, the concentration of solute in the liquid or overflow stream is equal to the concentration of
solute in the liquid solution accompanying the slurry or underflow stream.

▪ The amount of solution retained with the solids in the settling portion of each stage may depend the
density and viscosity of liquid in which the solid is suspended.
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4. Single stage calculation
Equilibrium diagram for leaching

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4. Single stage calculation
Equilibrium diagram for leaching

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4. Single stage calculation

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4. Single stage calculation
Example 1

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4. Single stage calculation
Example 1

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5. Multiple stage calculation

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5. Multiple stage calculation

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5. Multiple stage calculation

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5. Multiple stage calculation

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5. Multiple stage calculation

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5. Multiple stage calculation

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5. Multiple stage calculation
Example 2

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5. Multiple stage calculation
Example 2

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5. Multiple stage calculation
Example 2

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