The recovery of gold and silver from ore in an ionic liquid is reported for the first time. The 1-butyl-3-methyl-imidazolium hydrogen sulfate ionic liquid (bmim(+)HSO(4)(-)) was employed, with iron(III) sulfate oxidant and thiourea added. Selective extraction of gold (greater than or equal to85%) and silver (greater than or equal to60%) from powdered ore (of dominantly chalcopyrite/pyrite/pyrrhotite/sphalerite mineralogy) was achieved at room temperature in 50 h, with other lower-value metals present in the ore (Cu, Zn, Pb, Fe) extracted to only low percentages. Gold extraction was similar to that achieved in aqueous H2SO4/thiourea/Fe-2(SO4)(3), and silver extraction was significantly better. Moreover, the ionic liquid can be recycled following selective stripping of gold and silver on activated charcoal, with reuse in at least four successive treatments leading to neither ionic liquid degradation nor any loss in extraction efficiency.
作者
我是这篇论文的作者
点击您的名字以认领此论文并将其添加到您的个人资料中。
推荐
暂无数据