Adsorption of gold from thiosulfate solutions with chemically modified activated carbon

Adsorption of the gold–thiosulfate complex ion ( Au ( S 2 O 3 ) 2 3 - ) on silver ferrocyanide (AgFC)-impregnated activated carbon in aqueous solution has been studied in order to find an effectual adsorbent for the thiosulfate extracting gold from ores. This study was performed using AgFC-impregnat...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Hong Yu, Futing Zi, Xianzhi Hu, Yanhe Nie, Yunlong Chen, Huiling Cheng
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SAGE Publications 2018-02-01
Series:Adsorption Science & Technology
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1177/0263617417698864
Description
Summary:Adsorption of the gold–thiosulfate complex ion ( Au ( S 2 O 3 ) 2 3 - ) on silver ferrocyanide (AgFC)-impregnated activated carbon in aqueous solution has been studied in order to find an effectual adsorbent for the thiosulfate extracting gold from ores. This study was performed using AgFC-impregnated activated carbon (AC-Ag-R-FC: AC: activated carbon, Ag: silver nitrate, R: heating, FC: potassium ferrocyanide) and an artificial aqueous solution of Au ( S 2 O 3 ) 2 3 - . Gold–thiosulfate complex adsorption kinetics and isotherm studies were carried out at pH = 9.0 on modified materials. It has been also found that the adsorption fits the intraparticle diffusion and Freundlich isotherm well. In order to understand the adsorption mechanism, raw and modified materials were characterized by N 2 adsorption–desorption measurements at 77 K, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The maximum adsorption capability of Au ( S 2 O 3 ) 2 3 - on AC-Ag-R-FC is 3.55 kgt −1 . Clearly, the extraordinary adsorption capacity of AC for Au ( S 2 O 3 ) 2 3 - offers a new approach to address challenging gold–thiosulfate complex separation and could promote the future development of thiosulfate leaching gold process.
ISSN:0263-6174
2048-4038