Modeling of high pressure pretreatment process for gold leaching
Karastelev, Nikolai (2013)
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe201311217379
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe201311217379
Tiivistelmä
Investigation of high pressure pretreatment process for gold leaching is the objective of
the present master's thesis. The gold ores and concentrates which cannot be easily treated
by leaching process are called "refractory". These types of ores or concentrates often have
high content of sulfur and arsenic that renders the precious metal inaccessible to the
leaching agents. Since the refractory ores in gold manufacturing industry take a
considerable share, the pressure oxidation method (autoclave method) is considered as
one of the possible ways to overcome the related problems.
Mathematical modeling is the main approach in this thesis which was used for
investigation of high pressure oxidation process. For this task, available information from
literature concerning this phenomenon, including chemistry, mass transfer and kinetics,
reaction conditions, applied apparatus and application, was collected and studied.
The modeling part includes investigation of pyrite oxidation kinetics in order to create a
descriptive mathematical model. The following major steps are completed: creation of
process model by using the available knowledge; estimation of unknown parameters and
determination of goodness of the fit; study of the reliability of the model and its
parameters.
the present master's thesis. The gold ores and concentrates which cannot be easily treated
by leaching process are called "refractory". These types of ores or concentrates often have
high content of sulfur and arsenic that renders the precious metal inaccessible to the
leaching agents. Since the refractory ores in gold manufacturing industry take a
considerable share, the pressure oxidation method (autoclave method) is considered as
one of the possible ways to overcome the related problems.
Mathematical modeling is the main approach in this thesis which was used for
investigation of high pressure oxidation process. For this task, available information from
literature concerning this phenomenon, including chemistry, mass transfer and kinetics,
reaction conditions, applied apparatus and application, was collected and studied.
The modeling part includes investigation of pyrite oxidation kinetics in order to create a
descriptive mathematical model. The following major steps are completed: creation of
process model by using the available knowledge; estimation of unknown parameters and
determination of goodness of the fit; study of the reliability of the model and its
parameters.