FU Kai-bin, DONG Fa-qing, NING Yan, WANG Jin-ming

(1. Key Laboratory of Solid Waste Treatment and Resource Recycle, Ministry of Education, Mianyang, Sichuan 621010, China;
2. School of Environment and Resource, Southwest University of Science and Technology, Mianyang, Sichuan, 621010, China)

Abstract: In order to study the effect of mineral crystal structure on copper sulphide bioleaching, bioleaching of copper sulphide minerals was investigated through a comparison of bond length, bond order, and crystalline interplanar spacing. The bioleaching results show that, after 48 days, copper extraction from djurleite, bornite, covellite, and chalcopyrite was 95.12%, 84.5%, 54.1%, and 18.33%, respectively. The rank for bioleaching of copper sulphides shows the order of djurleite>bornite>covellite>chalcopyrite. Comparison of crystal structure parameters revealed that the highest copper extraction from djurleite is due to its long bond length, large crystal interplanar spacing and low bond strength. The crystal-chemical properties are key factors, which affected the interaction between bacteria and copper sulphides.

Keywords: copper sulphide; bioleaching; bond length; crystalline interplanar spacing; bond order

Email: fukaibin@126.com

ACTA MINERALOGICA SINICA Vol. 36, No. 2, 2016, Page 215-219