Microwave Assisted Leaching of Sulphide Minerals

The understanding of the mechanisms by which
microwaves act upon leaching systems is of
particular importance for efficient microwave
processing and also to determine the optimum
microwave leaching conditions and potential scale
up. This work reports a fundamental study on the
influence of microwave energy on the dissolution
of sulphide minerals. Chalcopyrite and sphalerite
were chosen as model materials due to their economic
importance and the diversity of their heating
behavior in a microwave field. This work reports
the basics of microwave heating principles with
focus on the interaction between microwaves and
materials (solids and liquids). It includes also a
comprehensive literature survey on the application
of microwaves in extractive metallurgy as well as
experimental study on the leaching of both
chalcopyrite and sphalerite using different leaching
systems under both conventional and microwave
conditions. Measurement of dielectric properties of
solids and liquids has been carried out using both
cavity perturbation and coaxial probe techniques.
Finally, numerical electromagnetic simulations was
carried for the leaching process.

Autorentext

Mohammad Al-Harahsheh is an Assistant Prof in the department of Mining Engineering at Al-Hussein Bin Talal University/Jordan. He Holds A B.Sc. degree in Electrometallurgy from Moscow Institute of Steel and Alloys/Russia, 1994, a PhD degree in Mineral Processing and Extractive Metallurgy from The University of Nottingham/UK, 2005.

Klappentext

The understanding of the mechanisms by which microwaves act upon leaching systems is of particular importance for efficient microwave processing and also to determine the optimum microwave leaching conditions and potential scale up. This work reports a fundamental study on the influence of microwave energy on the dissolution of sulphide minerals. Chalcopyrite and sphalerite were chosen as model materials due to their economic importance and the diversity of their heating behavior in a microwave field. This work reports the basics of microwave heating principles with focus on the interaction between microwaves and materials (solids and liquids). It includes also a comprehensive literature survey on the application of microwaves in extractive metallurgy as well as experimental study on the leaching of both chalcopyrite and sphalerite using different leaching systems under both conventional and microwave conditions. Measurement of dielectric properties of solids and liquids has been carried out using both cavity perturbation and coaxial probe techniques. Finally, numerical electromagnetic simulations was carried for the leaching process.