Heap leaching: a gas diffusion rate-limited model.

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dc.contributor.authorRitchie, AIMen_AU
dc.date.accessioned2007-11-22T04:27:07Zen_AU
dc.date.accessioned2010-04-30T04:38:05Zen_AU
dc.date.available2007-11-22T04:27:07Zen_AU
dc.date.available2010-04-30T04:38:05Zen_AU
dc.date.issued1977-11en_AU
dc.description.abstractThe consequences are examined of assuming that the oxidation rate of pyrites in an overburden dump is determined by the rate at which the oxygen required can be supplied from the top surface of the heap by diffusion through the pore space of the heap. It is shown that the oxidation reaction proceeds at a reaction front that moves away from the top surface of the heap at a rate determined entirely by the concentration of pyrites in the heap, the diffusion coefficient of oxygen in the pore space, the concentration of oxygen in the air and the ratio of the mass of oxygen to the mass of pyrites consumed in the oxidation. Applied to White's overburden dump at Rum Jungle, the model indicates oxidation rates of the same order as those inferred from field measurement. It also predicts that at the present stage of that heap's development the reaction front lies between 3 and 5 m from the surface, depending on the porosity, which is assumed to be between 20 and 40 per cent, and that the front advances 7.5 to 13 cm per year. If the reaction is catalysed by iron-oxidising bacteria, then on the basis of the model the bacterial population will be greatest in this comparatively small region, zero in the anaerobic region below the front, and small in the upper levels of the heap. Estimates are also made of the temperature rise at the reaction front and the temperature distribution, assuming that the only heat loss is by conduction through the soil. However, heat loss to water passing through the heap could be significant and a more sophisticated treatment may be required.en_AU
dc.identifier.citationRitchie, A. I. M. (1977). Heap leaching: a gas diffusion rate-limited model.(AAEC/E429. Lucas Heights, NSW: Australian Atomic Energy Commission.en_AU
dc.identifier.govdoc657en_AU
dc.identifier.isbn0642596298en_AU
dc.identifier.otherAAEC-E-429en_AU
dc.identifier.placeofpublicationLucas Heights, New South Walesen_AU
dc.identifier.urihttp://apo.ansto.gov.au/dspace/handle/10238/647en_AU
dc.language.isoen_auen_AU
dc.publisherAustralian Atomic Energy Commissionen_AU
dc.subjectLeachingen_AU
dc.subjectGaseous diffusionen_AU
dc.subjectSoilsen_AU
dc.subjectRum Jungle Mineen_AU
dc.subjectLand pollutionen_AU
dc.subjectLeachingen_AU
dc.subjectGaseous diffusionen_AU
dc.subjectOxidationen_AU
dc.subjectWater pollutionen_AU
dc.titleHeap leaching: a gas diffusion rate-limited model.en_AU
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