Scholarly record
HYDROMETALURGICAL LEACHING EXPERIMENTS ON SELECTED MINERALS AND MATERIALS BY OXALIC ACID
Abstract
To investigate the reactivity of various mineral groups with oxalic acid, a series of long-term beaker experiments were conducted using a saturated solution of oxalic acid dihydrate (~50 g/100 mL) in distilled water, heated to >100 -C to enhance dissolution efficiency. The selected samples represented a broad range of mineralogical classes: brochantite (hydroxy-sulfate), malachite (carbonate hydroxide), pyrite (sulfide), chrysotile (silicate), and a Fe- and Cu-rich metallurgical slag containing complex, heterogeneous mineral phases. Each sample was fully submerged in the solution and left to react for at least 50 days under ambient laboratory conditions. Copper oxalate precipitated from both brochantite and malachite, while chrysotile produced magnesium oxalate dihydrate after extended exposure. No oxalate formation was observed in the pyrite sample. In contrast, the Fe-/Cu-slag yielded iron oxalate dihydrate, likely due to the presence of iron oxyhydroxides such as goethite. Neoformed crystalline phases were identified using Raman spectroscopy with a 785 nm excitation laser. These findings highlight the selective leaching capacity of oxalic acid, particularly for oxidized or hydroxylated mineral phases. The study demonstrates oxalic acid-s potential as a low-cost, selective, and environmentally friendly reagent for metal recovery from mine waste, low-grade ores, and complex industrial residues - offering promising implications for sustainable, scalable, and efficient hydrometallurgical applications in the circular economy.
Publication Impact Profile
- Captures
- Mendeley - Readers: 1
Publication details
References10
Verma, A., Kore, R., Corbin, D. R., Shiflett, M. B., Metal recovery using oxalate chemistry: A technical review, Industrial & Engineering Chemistry, 58, pp 15381-15393, 2019. DOI: 10.1021/acs.iecr.9b02598.
Barman, A. K., Varadachari, C., Ghosh, K., Weathering of silicate minerals by organic acids. I. Nature of cation solubilization, Geoderma, 53, 1992, pp 45-63. DOI: 10.1016/0016-7061(92)90020-8
Varadachari, C., Barman, A. K., Ghosh, K., Weathering of silicate minerals by organic acids. II. Nature of residual products, Geoderma, 61, 1994, pp 251-268. DOI: 10.1016/0016-7061(94)90052-3
Banasova, V., Pis�t, I., Lintnerova, O., Remarks to the specific vegetation of smelter wastes near the village Smoln�k (Slovensk� rudohorie Mts., E. Slovakia), Bull. Slov. Bot. Spolocn., 25, pp 135-141, 2003.
M�ller, H., Bourcet, L., Hanfland, M., Iron(II)oxalate dihydrate-humboldtine: Synthesis, spectroscopic and structural properties of a versatile precursor for high pressure research, Minerals, 11(2), pp 113, 2021, DOI: 10.3390/min11020113.
Wilson, M. J., Jones, D., McHardy, W. J., The weathering of serpentinite by Lecanora atra, Lichenologist, 13/2, pp 167-176, 1981, DOI: 10.1017/S0024282981000212.
Li, Z., Lu, X., Teng, H. H., Chen, Y., Zhao, L., Ji, J., Chen, J., Liu, L., Specificity of low molecular weight organic acids on the release of elements from lizardite during fungal weathering, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 256, pp 20-34, 2019, DOI: 10.1016/j.gca.2018.09.029.
Jones, D., Wilson, M. J., McHardy, W. J., Lichen weathering of rock-forming minerals: application of scanning electron microscopy and microprobe analysis, Journal of Microscopy, 124, 1, pp 95-104, 1981. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2818.1981.tb01309.x.
Hummel, W., Anderegg, G., Rao, L., Puigdom�nech, I., Tochiyama, O. Chemical Thermodynamics of compounds and complexes of U, Np, Pu, Am, Tc, Se, Ni and Zr with selected organic ligands, OECD-NEA, pp 1088, 2005, ISBN: 0-444-51402-3.
Ramanathan, R., Nasr-El-Din, H., Improving the dissolution of iron sulfide by blending chelating agents and its synergists, SPE Middle East Oil and Gas Show and Conference, Manama, Bahrain, pp 1-19, 2019, DOI: 10.2118/195128-MS.
View or Download full articleAccess options
SWS access login
Login as SWS Scientific CommitteeLogin as SWS Scientific PartnerLogin as SWS AuthorAuthors and approved SWS contributors will read and export their own linked papers after identity matching by SWS profile, email and SGEM GlobalID.
For librarian assistance: [email protected]
Purchase Instant Access
- Article can be downloaded after successful payment.
- Article may be used according to SWS library access terms.
- Article cannot be redistributed.