中国有色金属学报(英文版)
Transactions of Nonferrous Metals Society of China
| Vol. 18 No. 6 December 2008 |
（1. School of Minerals Processing and Bioengineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China;
2. Key Laboratory of Biometallurgy of Ministry of Education, School of Minerals Processing and Bioengineering, Central South University, Changsha 410083, China）
Abstract:In order to characterize the efficiency of copper bioleaching from anilite using pure cultures of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans in the absence and presence of ferrous sulphate, the experiments were carried out in shake flasks with or without 4 g/L ferrous sulphate (FeSO4·7H2O) at pH 2.0, 150 r/min and 35 ℃. The tests show that Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans is unable to attack anilite in iron-free 9K medium. Anilite is rapidly oxidized by bacterial leaching when ferrous sulphate is added. Chemical oxidation of anilite is slow compared with Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans initiated solubilization in the presence of iron. The EDAX analysis of the surfaces of anilite confirms that sulfur coating layer is present as a reaction product on the surface of the bacterially leached mineral.
Key words: bioleaching; anilite; Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans
