The Electrochemical Behavior of Iron and its Ions During Standard Leaching QT of the reduced Laterite Ores in Caron Process With Different Aireations

Abstract

In this paper was confirmed for the experimental conditions of the QT test, that the redox potential of the pulp as a function of the C(Fe) in liquor, plotted by the Nernst equation, is divided into three well defined zones for different content of in MR. The first two zones are of most interest to regulate Qa in industrial practice by controlling the redox potential of the pulp. For the zone I, were obtained statistical equations that predict the values of the electrochemical potentials of the pulp as a function of the inverse content of  in MR: at the end of mixing (MR - liquor), just before starting the aeration [Eºx, t = 0]; the rupture potential [Eºx, r] limiting the term zero-order reaction. While the redox potential more negative [Eºx, m], which initiates the zero-order reaction, reaching the maximum concentration of Fe in the liquor during the first minutes of leaching, described as an equation based on the variation of Qa and the %  in MR. For the zone II, was obtained the equation that predicts the values of the electrochemical potential of the pulp as a logarithmic function of the C(Fe) by the first-order reaction by C(Fe), wherein the concentration of ions sulfur, unlike the zone I, exerts a statistically significant effect.