Use of ACORGA® NR Reagents in the Presence of Nitrate Ions in SX: The State of the Art

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Heap-Ketoxime Heap-NR20

25

20
Fe+3, ppm

15

10

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Loaded Organic, %

30
ROM-Ketoxime ROM-NR20

25

20
Fe+3, ppm

15

10
FIGURE 4:
5 Organic Fe Co-extraction
as a function of copper loading
0 for Heap and ROM solutions
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Loaded Organic, %

CONCLUSION
Based on the results of the studies in the laboratory, and in
the pilot plant, the following conclusions can be made:
• There is a great increase in the extraction efficiency and
transfer of copper when using the ACORGA NR extractant,
mainly because it provides better performance at low pH
and enhanced extraction kinetics, which help improve the
stage efficiency.
• In all of the cases studied, the ACORGA NR reagent
performed better in terms of copper recovery by at least
two percentage points with a maximum difference of 8
percentage points.
• Cu/Fe selectivity is also increased significantly (50%) by
use of ACORGA NR extractants rather than ketoxime.
• The ACORGA NR extractant offers protection for the plant
organic inventory under nitration conditions, ensuring a
similar or better response than the LIX 84I® extractant.

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