Chalcopyrite leaching in alcoholic acid media

O.J. Solı́s-Marcı́al, G.T. Lapidus

PII: S0304-386X(14)00091-7
DOI: doi: 10.1016/j.hydromet.2014.04.011
Reference: HYDROM 3877

To appear in: Hydrometallurgy

Received date: 4 February 2014

Revised date: 1 April 2014
Accepted date: 15 April 2014

Please cite this article as: Solı́s-Marcı́al, O.J., Lapidus, G.T., Chalcopyrite leaching in
alcoholic acid media, Hydrometallurgy (2014), doi: 10.1016/j.hydromet.2014.04.011

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CHALCOPYRITE LEACHING IN ALCOHOLIC ACID MEDIA

O. J. SOLÍS-MARCÍAL and G. T. LAPIDUS

Depto. Ingeniería de Procesos e Hidráulica, Universidad Autónoma

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Metropolitana-Iztapalapa, Av. San Rafael Atlixco 184, Col. Vicentina, México, D.F.
09340. Email: gtll@xanum.uam.mx

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ABSTRACT

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In recent years, the kinetics and mechanism of chalcopyrite dissolution in different
media have been the focus of much investigation since a fundamental
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understanding of the phenomena would help to resolve the problems that
challenge the implementation of a hydrometallurgical processing alternative. The
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addition of polar organic solvents has been found to have a beneficial effect by
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depassivating the chalcopyrite surface. The present article describes chalcopyrite

leaching in the presence of alcohols, such as 2-propanol and methanol, in an acid
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solution at different temperatures with distinct oxidants (H2O2, CuSO4 and O3). For
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both alcohols, the temperature was found to be a very important variable in the
process. For 2-propanol, copper dissolution by hydrogen peroxide fit the shrinking
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core model controlled by chemical reaction in the temperature range up to 40°C

with an activation energy of 42 kJ/mol. At higher temperatures, the peroxide rapidly
decomposed and the copper extraction ceased. In contrast to the straightforward
kinetics in peroxide, the dissolution behavior using cupric ion and ozone as
oxidants displayed a complex mechanism, initiating with the solid phase
transformation upon reaction with the cupric ion to form an iron-free phase, which
later was oxidized by the ozone. A reaction scheme is proposed according to the
different phases formed during the leaching process, identified using ultraviolet and
atomic absorption spectroscopies, as well as X-ray diffraction. Methanol was found
to stabilize the cuprous ion and allow the formation of roxbyite (Cu2S2-6Cu2S),
which is an essential to achieve high copper extractions.
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INTRODUCTION

Chalcopyrite dissolution at moderate conditions has been a significant challenge,

due to the passivation that occurs upon oxidation in acid solutions. In the majority

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of processes proposed, strong oxidants, frequently the ferric ion in chloride or
sulfate media, and elevated temperatures are necessary to achieve high copper

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extractions (Cordoba et al., 2008). An alternative redox pair is Cu(II)/Cu(I), which is

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stable in the presence of various media, such as in chloride solutions (Lu and
Dreisinger 2013) and in polar organic solvents (Nelson et al., 1961). Recently,

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Solis-Marcial and Lapidus (2013) found that both ethylene glycol and acetone in
the oxidative acid leaching solutions yielded elevated copper extractions. The
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improvement was attributed to the greater stability of the cuprous ion in organic
solvents. The role played by the cuprous ion in the leaching reaction could be the
same as that observed in chloride media ((Lu and Dreisinger, 2013), except that in
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organic solvents, the cuprous ion is not complexed and consequently, its activity is
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greater. Nelson et al. (1961) established that the Cu(I) ion is also stabilized by
alcohols, such as 2-propanol, methanol, ethanol, etc. For that reason, this research
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studied the chalcopyrite leaching mechanism in alcoholic acid media, using 2-

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propanol or methanol.
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EXPERIMENTAL MATERIAL AND METHODS

The -149+177 m fraction of a relatively pure chalcopyrite from Kidd Creek mine
(Excalibur Mineral Corporation, Inc.) was used for the leaching experiments.

The leaching experiments were performed in a 1 L Pyrex® reactor, equipped with a

condenser. The solutions were prepared with reagent grade chemicals and
deionized water. Heating tape was used to sustain the temperature in the reactor,
which was regulated with a thermocouple connected to an on-off controller.

All leaching tests employed 140 mL of 1 M sulfuric acid and 60 mL of alcohol

(70/30% v/v), with the desired volume of reagent grade hydrogen peroxide (30%
v/v) to reach the required concentration. The total volume was then completed to
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280 mL with distilled water. Consequently, the final sulfuric acid concentration was
0.5 M and those of 2-propanol and methanol were 3.7 and 6.9 M, respectively. In
other experiments, cupric sulfate pentahydrate and ozone were used as the
oxidants. When ozone was employed as an oxidant, once the desired temperature

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was reached, it was continuously bubbled into the solution. The ozone [0.0349 g
O3/min] was produced by supplying medicinal grade oxygen into the Biozon

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ozonizer (Basktek, S.A. de C.V.). Subsequently, 3 grams of chalcopyrite was

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introduced into the solution and suspended by constant agitation. Samples of the
solution were taken to determine the iron and copper concentrations by atomic

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absorption spectrometry (AAS, Varian SpectrAA 220FS). The cuprous ion
determinations were carried out in a Varian CARY5000 spectrophotometer. Diluted
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samples (1:100) of the leaching solution were analyzed in a quartz cell in the 200
to 800 nm range. Once the test was finalized, the residue was filtered and allowed
to air-dry. The resultant phases were determined by X-ray diffraction analysis of
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the solid residues (D8 Advanced), using a velocity of 0.1° per second.
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RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

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2-PROPANOL

Chalcopyrite leaching with polar organic solvents requires the use of an oxidant to
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reach the necessary solution potential (Solís-Marcíal and Lapidus, 2013).

Hydrogen peroxide is one of the frequently used clean oxidants due to its high
redox potential (1.77 V vs SHE) in acid media (Adebayo et al., 2003).

The initial peroxide concentration is a sensitive variable in mineral dissolution

processes. For this reason, leaching tests were carried out on the chalcopyrite with
2-propanol/sulfuric acid solutions, varying the hydrogen peroxide concentration at
50°C (1, 2 and 3 M). Copper extractions for these experiments are reported in
Figure 1, where initial dissolutions rates coincide with the peroxide concentration.
However, after a short time, the extraction ceases for all concentrations probably
due to the decomposition of the peroxide at the system temperature (associated
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with the solution potential) (Solis and Lapidus, 2013). The concentration at which
the greatest dissolution was achieved was 2 M, although the combined effect of
high temperature with large concentration accelerated the peroxide degradation,
confirming the observations of other authors (Adebayo et al., 2003; Dimitrijevic et

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al., 1996 Antonijevic et al., 2004).

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60

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50
%Copper Extracted

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40

30 MA
20 3M

2M
10
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1M
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0
0 60 120 180 240 300
Time (min)
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Figure 1. Copper extraction from chalcopyrite versus time for solutions of 0.5 M H2SO4 with 3.7 M 2-
propanol (70-30% v/v), varying the H2O2 concentration at 50°C.
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To confirm that the low extraction was due to peroxide decomposition, the same
experiments were performed at a lower temperature (40°C). Figure 2 shows the
same initial tendency, but copper extraction continues to rise throughout the
experiments until passivation or oxidant depletion sets in after ~240 minutes.
Adebayo et al. (2003) experimented at similar conditions, without the organic
solvent, achieving significantly lower extractions (~20%). This confirms that alcohol
additions diminish chalcopyrite passivation, although the kinetics is slower.
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80

70

60
% Copper Extracted

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50

40

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30
3M
20

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2M
10
1M
0

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0 60 120 180 240 300
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Figure 2. Copper extraction from chalcopyrite versus time for solutions of 0.5 M H2SO4 with 3.7 M 2-
propanol (70-30% v/v), with different H2O2 concentration at 40°C.
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Experiments were performed in the limited temperature range between 25 and

50°C with an initial peroxide concentration of 3 M. As may be perceived in Figure
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3, the initial kinetics increase with the temperature. However, as noted previously,
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at 50°C peroxide rapidly decomposes, ending copper extraction. As a reference,

Adebayo et al. (2003) and Antonijevic et al. (2004) only dissolved 30% and 45%,
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respectively, under similar conditions.

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80

70

60

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% Copper Extracted

50

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40

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30
T 40°C
20 T 30 °C

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T 25 °C
10
T 50 °C
0
0 60
MA 120 180 240 300
Time (min)
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Figure 3. Copper extraction from chalcopyrite versus time for solutions of 0.5 M H2SO4 with 3.7 M 2-
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propanol (70-30% v/v) and 3 M of H2O2, at different temperatures.

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Since chalcopyritic iron is simultaneously removed in this leaching process (data

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not shown here), the chalcopyrite is expected to react leaving only a very porous
layer of elemental sulfur in its wake.
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[1]

Where R is the polar organic solvent

For that reason, the shrinking core model with chemical reaction control was used
to analyze the experimental data (Levenspiel, 1972). The integrated expression is
the following:

[2]

Where x is the fractional conversion of the chalcopyrite, t is the leaching time,

is the molar copper concentration in the mineral, kCH2O2 is the first order kinetic
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constant, d is the chalcopyrite particle diameter and b is the stoichiometric

coefficient.

The experimental results are plotted as a function of equation [2] in Figure 4, where

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a reasonable agreement was achieved for the initial extractions at the lower
temperatures.

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0.2

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0.18 20°C 1-(1-X)1/3 = 0.0033t
0.16 30°C
0.14 40°C 1-(1-X)1/3 = 0.0017t

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1-(1-X)1/3

0.12
0.1 MA
0.08 1-(1-X)1/3 = 0.0011t
0.06
0.04
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0.02
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0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Time (min)
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1/3
Figure 4. Shrinking core model with reaction control [1-(1-X) ] as a function of time at various
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temperatures. Conditions: 0.5 M H2SO4 with 3.7 M 2-propanol (70-30% v/v) and 3 M of H2O2.

An Arrhenius plot of the slope values (ln [slope] versus 1/T) is shown in Figure 5,
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where an activation energy of 42 kJ mol-1 was calculated. This value coincides

with those found by Adebayo et al. (2003) and Antonijevic et al. (2004), using
peroxide.
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-5.7

-5.9

-6.1 ln k = -5024*(1/T)

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-6.3
Ln k

-6.5

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-6.7

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-6.9

-7.1

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0.00315 0.0032 0.00325 0.0033 0.00335 0.0034 0.00345

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Figure 5. Arrhenius plot (ln K versus 1/T). Conditions: 0.5 M H2SO4 with 3.7 M 2-propanol (70-30% v/v),
and 3 M of H2O2.

CuSO4 and O3 as Oxidants

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The principal disadvantages of using hydrogen peroxide are its elevated cost and
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its instability at high temperatures. For this reason, more convenient oxidants were
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employed: CuSO4 and O3. Copper sulfate alone proved to be less efficient
compared to the combination of the two oxidants (Solis-Marcial and Lapidus,
2012). Figure 6 shows the copper extraction using the solution of 0.5 M H2SO4/3.7
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M 2-propanol with an ozone flow of 0.035 g min-1, varying the copper sulfate
concentration (0.09, 0.18 and 0.27 M) at 40°C. The observed behavior is
completely different from that exhibited in the peroxide tests; there is an initial
decrease in the copper concentration in solution, followed by a relatively linear
ascendant trend for the remaining leach time. The disappearance of copper
probably is an indication that a transformation to copper-rich solid phase is taking
place, which subsequently is easier to oxidize. As the initial copper sulfate
concentration is increased, more copper reacts with the chalcopyrite and the
kinetics of the copper dissolution increases. This implies that the efficiency of
copper extraction depends on the quantity of the copper-rich species formed. This
aspect will be analyzed below. However, the important conclusion is that the
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combination of cupric sulfate and ozone, can be as effective as hydrogen peroxide

as an oxidant.

85
0.27 M

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0.18 M
65
0.09 M

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45
%Copper extracted

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25

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0 60 120 180 240 300
-15
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-35

-55
D

Time (min)
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Figure 6. Copper extraction from chalcopyrite versus time for solution of 0.5 M H2SO4 with 3.7 M 2-
-1
propanol (70-30% v/v), with different concentrations of CuSO4 and an ozone flow rate of 0.035 g min at
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40°C.
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METHANOL
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An alternative polar organic solvent that stabilizes Cu(I) is methanol, which is less
expensive than 2-propanol. Figure 7 shows the copper extraction with a solution of
0.5 M H2SO4 and 6.9 M methanol with 2.5 M H2O2, varying the temperature (20, 30
and 40°C). The behavior is similar to that observed using peroxide as the oxidant
in other solvents, extracting 40, 60 and 65%, respectively, after 5 hours with an
ascendant tendency (Solís-Marcíal and Lapidus, 2013).
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70

60

50
% Copper Extracted

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40

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30
T 40°C
20

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T 30°C

10 T 20°C

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0
0 60 120 180 240 300
Time (min)
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Figure 7. Copper extraction from chalcopyrite versus time for solution of 0.5 M H2SO4 with 6.9 M
methanol (70-30% v/v), and 2.5 M of H2O2 at different temperatures.
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In the previous section, the oxidant concentration was shown to greatly affect the
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chalcopyrite leaching rate. The same solution and conditions as in the last series of
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experiments (0.2 M CuSO4) were used, varying only the ozone flow rate at 40°C
(0.016, 0.021 and 0.035 g O3/min). In Figure 8, the initial copper extraction
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fluctuates for all of the ozone flows, implying that several processes are occurring
simultaneously. However, as time advances, the instability gives way to steady
upward tendencies, reaching 35, 55 and 80%, with flows of 0.016, 0.021 y 0.035 g
O3/min, respectively. This behavior coincides with that encountered by Carrillo-
Pedroza et al. (2010) using ferric ion in combination with ozone, but without a
solvent, although these authors did not achieve copper extractions above 25%.
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90 0.035 g/min
80
0.021 g/min
70
60 0.016 g/min
% Copper Extracted

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50
40
30

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20
10

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0
-10 0 60 120 180 240 300

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-20

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Figure 8. Copper extraction from chalcopyrite versus time for solution of 0.5 M H2SO4 with 6.9 M
methanol (70-30% v/v), and 0.2 M CuSO4, with different flows rates of ozone at 40°C.
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The improvement in chalcopyrite dissolution with polar organic solvents may be

associated with the stabilization of the cuprous ion (Solís-Marcíal and Lapidus,
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2013). This phenomenon, according to Nelson et al. (1961), is related to the lower
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solvation energy of Cu(II) in polar organic solvents, which affects its

thermodynamic stability relative to the cuprous ion, allowing their co-existence. To
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verify the presence of the cuprous ion and to understand its role in the leaching
process, ultraviolet spectroscopy was employed to track its concentration. Bae and
Weinberg (1993) concluded that Cu(I) absorbs ultraviolet radiation in the interval
between 200 and 300 nm, forming a shoulder. A calibration curve (Figure 9) was
constructed with cuprous chloride in hydrochloric acid solutions (0, 50, 100, 150
and 200 ppm). The different concentrations of Cu(I) can be perceived as a peak in
the wavelength range of 225-300 nm, which coincides with that observed by Bae
and Weinberg (1993). As would be expected, this peak increases with the cuprous
ion concentration.
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50ppm
100ppm
150ppm
200ppm
2

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HCl
Absorbance u.a.

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1

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0 MA
200 300 400 500
Wavelength (nm)
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Figure 9. Calibration curve for the cuprous ion at different concentrations of cuprous chloride in
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hydrochloric acid.

Samples of the leaching solution at different times from the experiment with 0.035
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g/min O3 were analyzed by this method. The spectra are presented in Figure 10,
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where the characteristic Cu(I) shoulder appears near 300 nm. Furthermore, the
height of the shoulder increases with leaching time, implying that the Cu(I)
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concentration is raising. This probably indicates that the chalcopyritic copper is

liberated as Cu(I), stabilized by the methanol.
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0.5

0min
20min
40min
60min

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120min
180min
240min
Absorbance u.a.

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300min

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0.0

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200 300 400 500
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Wavelength (nm)
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Figure 10. UV spectra of the leach solution at different times of the pregnant solution with dissolution
1:100 of the leaching using 0.5 M H2SO4 with 6.9 M methanol (70-30% v/v) and 0.2 M CuSO4, with 0.035 g
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-1
min of ozone at 40°C.
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As mentioned previously, in Figures 6 and 8, where cupric sulfate and ozone are
used as the oxidants, the copper concentration decreases at the beginning of the
leach, suggesting the formation of a copper-rich phase solid phase. To clarify this
mechanism, the solid residue, produced after 20 minutes in contact with the
leaching solution, was analyzed by X-ray diffraction (Figure 11). Three species
were identified: unreacted chalcopyrite, elemental sulfur and roxbyite (Cu2S2-
6Cu2S or Cu1.75S). This indicates that the chalcopyrite transforms to a phase
containing only Cu(I), eliminating iron from its structure. Several research groups
have proposed that chalcopyrite dissolution in acid media takes place through the
formation of copper-rich intermediate phases (Cordoba et al., 2008; Hiroyoshi et
al., 2001).
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Cp
6000
Cp Chalcopyrite

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S Sulfur
5000 Rx Roxbyite

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Cp
4000

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Intensity u.a.

3000

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S
2000 MA Cp
Rx
1000 Rx S Rx
S
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0
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10 20 30 40 50 60 70

2
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Figure 11. Diffractogram of solid residue after 20 minutes of leaching using 0.5 M H2SO4 with 6.9 M
-1
methanol (70-30% v/v) and 0.2 M CuSO4, with 0.035 g min of ozone at 40°C.
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The behavior of iron extraction throughout the leaching process is quite interesting.
In the peroxide experiments, the iron dissolves at a rate and in stoichiometric
proportions similar to those of copper (data not shown). However, with cupric
sulfate and ozone, the iron dissolution is continuous from the onset of the
experiment, although in a lesser proportion relative to the copper extraction (Figure
12). The remainder of the chalcopyritic iron stays in the solid as troilite, FeS (Solís
Marcíal and Lapidus, in revision).
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18
16
14

% Iron extracted
12

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10
8

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6
4

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2
0
0 60 120 180 240 300

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Time (min)
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Figure 12. Iron extraction from chalcopyrite versus time using 0.5 M H2SO4 with 6.9 M methanol (70/30%
-1
v/v) and 0.2 M of CuSO4 with 0.035 g min O3 as oxidants at 40°C.

With the evidence of these phases, the following three step reaction mechanism is
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proposed. In the first stage, the cupric ion oxidizes a sulfide with the chalcopyrite
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structure, forming the copper-rich roxbyite phase (Cu2S2-6Cu2S). Simultaneously,

the Fe(III) is liberated from the matrix and is reduced by oxidizing other sulfide ions
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to elemental sulfur.
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(3)
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In the second stage, roxbyite is oxidized by the ozone in the acidic organic (R)
medium, methanol in this case. The copper is dissolved as Cu(I), stabilized by the
methanol. The sulfur in the roxbyite structure is oxidized to its elemental form
(reaction (4)).

(4)

The Fe2+ and S2- ions from the first stage recombine to form troilite, as suggested
by reaction (5):

(5)
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Therefore, the overall reaction for this system, suggested by Solís-Marcíal and
Lapidus (in revision) is the result of the three-step process proposed in the present
investigation (reaction (6)).

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(6)

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CONCLUSIONS

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The present study shows the beneficial role of alcohols in oxidative chalcopyrite
leaching. The leaching kinetics in 2-propanol acidic media, using peroxide as the
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oxidant, obey the reaction controlled shrinking core model with an activation energy of
42 kJ/mol. However, at temperatures above 40°C, its effectiveness decreases due to
the destruction of the peroxide itself. As an alternative, the combination of oxidants
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(CuSO4 and O3) offers comparable copper extractions after 5 hours (~80%). However,
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despite their similarities, the reaction mechanisms differ. A reaction scheme was
proposed for the CuSO4 and O3 system, which contemplates an initial transformation
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of the chalcopyrite to a copper-rich, iron-free solid phase (roxbyite, Cu2S2-6Cu2S).

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Subsequently, copper is liberated and stabilized as Cu(I) by the solvent, when part of
the sulfur is oxidized to its elemental form by ozone. This proposed mechanism was
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supported by different spectroscopic techniques.

REFERENCES

Adebayo A.O., Ipinmoroti K.O. and Ajayi O.O., 2003, “Dissolution kinetics of
chalcopyrite with hydrogen peroxide in sulphuric acid medium”, Chem. Biochem.
Eng., 17, 213-218.

Antonijevic M.M., Jankovic Z.D. and Dimitrijevic M.D., 2004, “Kinetics of

chalcopyrite dissolution by hydrogen peroxide in sulphuric acid”, Hydrometallurgy,
71, 329-334.

Bae B.B. and Weinberg M.C., 1993, “Ultraviolet optical absorptions of

semiconducting copper phosphate glasses”, J. Appl. Phys., 73, 7760-7766.
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Carrillo-Pedroza F.R., Sánchez-Castillo M.A., Soria-Aguilar M.J., Martínez-

Luévanos A. and Gutiérrez E.C., 2010, “Evaluation of acid leaching of low grade
chalcopyrite using ozone by statistical analysis”, Canadian Metallurgical Quarterly,
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Córdoba E.M., Muñoz J.A., Blázquez M.L., González F. and Ballester A., 2008,
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Dimitrijevic M., Antonijevic M. M. and Jancovic Z., 1996, “Kinetics of pyrite

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dissolution by hydrogen peroxide in perchloric acid”, Hydrometallurgy, 42, 377-386.

Hiroyoshi N., Miki H., Hirajima T. and Tsunekawa M. 2001, “Enhancement of

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chalcopyrite leaching by ferrous ions in acidic ferric sulfate solutions”,
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Levenspiel O., 1972 “Chemical Reaction Engineering”, 2nd ed. Wiley, New York,
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Lu J. and Dreisinger D., 2013, “Copper leaching from chalcopyrite concentrate in

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Cu(II)/Fe(III) chloride system”, Minerals Engineering, 45, 185-190.

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Nelson I. V., Larson R. C. and Iwamoto R. T., 1961, “Polarographic evidence for
the stability of copper(I) ion in some non-complexing nonaqueous solvents” Inorg.
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Nucl. Chem., 22, 279-284.

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Solis-Marcial, O.J. and Lapidus, G.T. (2012), “Leaching of Chalcopyrite

concentrate with Organic Ligand Compounds”, T.T. Chen Honorary Symposium on
Hydrometallurgy, Electrometallurgy and Materials Characterization, Eds. Shijie
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Wang, John E. Dutrizac, Michael L. Free, James Y Hwang y Daniel Kim, TMS (The
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dissolution in acid media using polar organic solvents”, Hydrometallurgy, 131-132,
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Solís-Marcíal O. J. and Lapidus G. T., “Electrochemical dissolution study of

chalcopyrite in alcohols and organic acids“, Electrochimica Acta, in revision.
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Highlights

Chalcopyrite leaching in acidic solutions with 2-propanol or methanol was studied

Alcohols stabilized the cuprous ion, promoting the formation of a copper-rich phase

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Different oxidants showed distinct reaction mechanisms

Cupric/ozone in acidic methanol solution proved to be the most effective

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combination

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