| Chalcopyrite, sphalerite, and pyrite, were leached using a bioleaching mode and an electrobioleaching mode. The former mode was used to teach the minerals with the bacterium A. ferrooxidans in a bioreactor. In the latter mode, the leaching of the minerals was performed in a combination of a bioreactor and an electrochemical cell. The idea is that an increase in Fe(II) concentration, which is a nutrient of the bacteria, by electrochemical reduction of Fe(III) would increase the bacterial population and in turn would accelerate the leaching of the mineral.; It has been found that the electrobioleaching of chalcopyrite and pyrite is superior to the bioleaching in particular with respect to the fact that leaching conversion is higher and a high level of Fe(II) can be maintained. However, the electrobioleaching of sphalerite does not show an improvement over bioleaching. |
