Hydrometallurgy 56 2000. 1331 www.elsevier.

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Simulation of a SXEW pilot plant

Hossein Aminian a, ) , Claude Bazin a , Daniel Hodouin a , Claude Jacob b
a b

Department of Mining and Metallurgy, Laal Uniersity, Quebec, Canada G1K 7P4 Gaspe Diision, Noranda Mines and Exploration, Murdochille, Canada G0E 1W0

Received 20 January 1999; received in revised form 15 December 1999; accepted 17 December 1999

Abstract Solvent extraction followed by electrowinning SXEW. is an economical option for the processing of low-grade and oxidized copper ore. Phenomenological models were developed to simulate the copper SX and the EW processes. The two models were linked together to make a SXEW simulator. The simulator is used to predict the operation of the Mines Gaspe pilot plant put in operation in 1996. Results confirm the potential of the simulation that would subsequently be used for student training, process optimisation and to assess the performance of control strategies. q 2000 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Solvent extraction; Electrowinning; Modeling; Copper; Iron

1. Introduction Solvent extraction followed by electrowinning SXEW. has become in the last two decades a key process for the recovery of copper from solution obtained by leaching low-grade copper ore. Several operations have been commissioned in North and South America in the last decade w1x. In Canada, Gibraltar Mine w2x operated a SX plant followed by EW to produce copper cathode from leached low-grade ore dumps. From 1996 to 1997, Mines Gaspe operated a pilot plant to test the economic feasibility of leaching an oxidized copper ore, followed by SX and EW of copper. Despite the fact

Corresponding author. Fax: q 1-418-656-5343. E-mail address: haminian@gmn.ulaval.ca H. Aminian..

0304-386Xr00r$ - see front matter q 2000 Published by Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved. PII: S 0 3 0 4 - 3 8 6 X 0 0 . 0 0 0 6 3 - 3

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H. Aminian et al. r Hydrometallurgy 56 (2000) 1331

that copper SXEW processes have the reputation of being low-cost operations, plant engineers should always look at ways to make the plant more efficient. Process models provide an economic platform to learn, control and ultimately optimize the operation of a plant. Several models have been independently proposed to simulate the SX process w39x and the EW process w1012x. However, few papers, if any, deal with the integration of the two process models into a single simulator of a SXEW plant. This paper describes the development of an integrated simulator for the SXEW process and shows some steady-state simulation runs of an actual SXEW pilot plant. The paper consists of four sections. Section 2 shows the general layout and principles of operation of a SXEW plant. Section 3 describes the SX model while Section 4 deals with the process model used for the copper EW process. The last section shows how the two process models are linked to simulate the operation of the Gaspe pilot plant.

2. The copper SXEW process Fig. 1 shows a possible layout of a SXEW process used to recover copper from solutions produced by ore leaching. The process of Fig. 1 consists of two extraction

Fig. 1. Flowsheet of Gaspe SXEW pilot plant.

H. Aminian et al. r Hydrometallurgy 56 (2000) 1331

15

stages followed by a stripping stage in closed circuit with an EW unit. The pregnant solution from the leached ore piles is mixed in a first mixersettler unit with an organic phase carrying an extractant for copper. The mixer fragments one of the two phases, usually the organic one, into droplets whose surfaces are used as sites for the transfer of ions from the aqueous to the organic phase. The aqueous and organic phases are then allowed to separate in the settler. The discharged aqueous solution of the first extraction stage feeds a second extraction mixersettler where it is allowed to contact a stripped organic solution see Fig. 1.. The organic and aqueous phases are separated in the settler. The loaded organic flows into the first extraction stage while the discharged aqueous solution or raffinate is pumped back to the leach ore pads. The organic solution from the first extraction stage feeds the stripping mixersettler Fig. 1. where it is mixed with an acidic solution that reverses the extraction process and regenerates the extractant in the organic phase by releasing the extracted copper into the aqueous phase. The aqueous phase, or strong electrolyte, produced by the stripping unit feeds the EW circuit while the organic is returned to the second extraction stage. The copper in the strong electrolyte is plated onto cathodes in the EW circuit and the discharged solution or spent electrolyte returns to the stripping mixersettler.

3. SX model The proposed model describes the steady-state operation of mixersettler units that are mostly used in copper SX plants. The proposed model is only concerned with the mixer unit, as observations in the studied pilot plant clearly demonstrated that the settler provides sufficient residence time to allow the complete separation of the aqueous and organic phases. Observations also confirm that the transfer of ions between the aqueous and organic phases in the settler is negligible. Future experimental and modeling work will, however, account for the operation of the settler in order to properly represent the dynamics of the process. The extraction process is due to the ion transfer between the aqueous a. and organic o. phases described by:
ni q n i HR Mq i

lM R
i

q ni q ni H

1.

where Mi stands for the i th extracted species, n i the ionic valence and HR the extractant molecule. For instance, the copper extraction reaction is given by:

CUq2 . a q 2HR. o

l CuR . q 2H
2 o 3 o

.a

2.

while ferric iron Feq3 . is extracted according to:

Feq3 . a q 3HR. o

l FeR . q 3H

.a

3.

where subscripts a and o stand for aqueous and organic phases, respectively. The model for the extraction process should account for the conservation of each species involved

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H. Aminian et al. r Hydrometallurgy 56 (2000) 1331

in the reaction. For that purpose, the species are divided into extracted species and exchangers, the extractant HR. and hydrogen ion being the exchangers in the process. Assuming a constant volume mixer hold-up, the volume conservation for the aqueous and organic phases is given by:
in in out in q Qo s Qa q Qo Qa

4.

where Q stands for a volumetric flow rate at the feed Q in . and discharge Q out . of the mixer. Since the transfer of ions has little impact on the phase densities, one can assume that in steady-state operation:
in out s Qa s Qa , Qa in out Qo s Qo s Qo

5.

The extracted species mass conservation is given by: Qa x iin y Qa x iout y Af i s 0 Qo yiin y Qo yiout q Af i s 0 for i s 1 to n for i s 1 to n

6. 7.

where x i is the species i concentration molrL. in the aqueous phase, yi the species i concentration in the organic phase molrL. and f i is the rate of transfer of species i from the aqueous to the organic phase expressed as molrmin cm2 . The total interfacial surface, A between the aqueous and organic phases is given by: As 6Vo dB

8.

where Vo is the volume of the organic phase in the mixer and d B the mean diameter of spherical organic droplets estimated from the impeller geometry and speed of rotation using the relationship proposed by Godfrey et al. w13x. The mass conservation equations for Hq and RH are given by:
N
in out Qa x H y Qa x H q A n i fi s 0

9. 10 .

is 1 N
in out Qo x RH y Qo x RH y A n i fi s 0

is 1

where n i is the number of RH or Hq involved in the transfer of species i see Eq. 1.. The model for the extraction process accounts for the chemical reaction and the mass transfer that lead to the recovery of species from the aqueous phase to the organic one. Fig. 2 shows a schematic view of the extraction process. The aqueous species Mi . diffuse from the aqueous phase to the organicraqueous interface to react with the extractant that has diffused from the bulk organic phase to the interface. The produced hydrogen proton diffuses back to the aqueous phase and the extracted species diffuses from the interface to the bulk organic see Fig. 2..

H. Aminian et al. r Hydrometallurgy 56 (2000) 1331

17

Fig. 2. The extraction process.

After an initial transition period, the rate of transfer of the species from the aqueous phase is balanced with the rate of species consumption by the chemical reaction. If the diffusion process is slow, then the species activities at the interface will be close to those of the thermodynamic equilibrium conditions of the extraction reaction. On the other hand, if the chemical reaction is slow, the species activities at the interface will be close to those of the bulk solution. In practice, both mechanisms control the process and the interfacial species activities lie between the thermodynamic equilibrium species activities and the species activities of the organic and aqueous phases. The rates of transfer of the species extracted species and hydrogen. from or to the bulk aqueous phase are modeled using:
int ria s ma i xi yxi . a int rH s ma H xH yxH .

11 . 12 .

while the transfer rates in the organic phase are given by:
int rio s mo i yi y yi . o int r RH s mo RH y RH y y RH .

13 . 14 .

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H. Aminian et al. r Hydrometallurgy 56 (2000) 1331

where m i stands for the mass transfer coefficient for species i. The superscript int indicates the interface see Fig. 2.. As the species reach the organicraqueous interface, they react according to Eq. 1. The rate of forward k f i . reaction for the species is given by w14x:
int x iint . y HR . ci s k f i p int xH . f m n

15 .

where m, n and p are the partial reaction orders. The relationship between equilibrium constant and rates of reaction is given by w15x:
z

Ki. s

kfi kri

int yiint x H . int x iint y RH .

ni ni

/
n iy p

16 .

Assuming z s 1, the rate of the chemical reaction occurring at the droplet interface g i may be derived as w8x:

gi s k r i

int x iint . y RH . Ki p int xH .

int xH . yiint . y 1y m int n iy n y RH . x iint .

17 .

Since at steady-state the overall rate of reaction is equal to the rate of diffusion and to the rate of the chemical reaction, one can write: ria s rio s ri s g i s f i
N

18 . 19 .

f RH s f H s n i f i
is 1

where f i is the overall transfer rate of species i from one phase to the other phase Eqs. 6, 7, 9 and 10.. The equilibrium constant, the mass transfer coefficients, and the forward and reverse rate constants are estimated from laboratory tests and plant sampling according to a procedure described elsewhere w16x. The simulation of a mixersettler unit requires the estimation of the bulk solution composition by solving simultaneously the mass balance equations and the extraction equations Eqs. 6, 7, 9 and 10.. The problem is non-linear and an iterative search is used to find the solution. The detailed procedure for the simulation is given by Aminian w16x. The proposed mixersettler model is valid for the extraction process as well as for the stripping one. When a SX circuit consists of several interconnected mixersettler units, as for the Gaspe process Fig. 1., an iteration process has to be conducted over the extraction and stripping units and the results of each simulation are used to estimate a new recycle organic phase composition that is re-injected into the circuit feed data and the simulation is repeated until convergence is obtained for the plant.

H. Aminian et al. r Hydrometallurgy 56 (2000) 1331

19

4. EW model The technical aspects of copper EW from a solution enriched by SX are discussed by Biswas and Davenport w17x. The EW cell may consist of up to 40 anodecathode couples suspended in a tank through which the copper-rich solution circulates and overflows at the opposite side of the feed Fig. 3.. The anodes are usually made of lead

Fig. 3. EW cell. a. Industrial EW Cell, w17x. b. Anode-cathode pair.

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H. Aminian et al. r Hydrometallurgy 56 (2000) 1331

doped with silver and antimony to reduce the overvoltage of the oxidation reaction. The main oxidation reaction at the anode is water decomposition: H 2O

1r2O q 2H q 2e
q 2

20 . 21 .

and in the presence of ferrous ions: Feq2

Fe

q3

q ey

The cathodes are usually made of stainless steel from which the plated copper is easily peeled off. The main reduction reactions in the winning of copper are: Cuq2 q 2ey

Cu

22 . 23 . 24 .

and the reduction of ferric ions: Feq3 q ey

q2

Fe Reduction of hydrogen according to: 2H q 2e H

q y 2

is minimum during the winning of copper because of the hydrogen reversible potential and overvoltage w18x. As for the SX model, the development of the EW model is presented in two sections. The first section lists the material balance equations used to describe the macroscopic operation of the process, while the second section looks into the mechanisms occurring at the electrodes. The EW cell shown in Fig. 3 identifies the variables used to write down the material balance equations. The mass conservation equation for the solution in the cell is given by:
N

Q inr in y Q outr out q Pi y L s 0

is 1

25 .

where Q is a volumetric flow rate, r the fluid density, Pi the rate of deposition or consumption of species i at the electrodes and L the water losses to the surroundings due to evaporation and the mist produced by the oxygen released at the anodes. Models have been developed to account for such losses w12x, which are however neglected in this study. The mass conservation equation therefore becomes:
N

Q inr in y Q outr out q Pi s 0

is 1

26 .

The density of the solution is estimated from the solution composition using an empirical model for a copper sulfate solution w19x

r s 1018 q 2.38 x Cu q 0.54 x H 2 SO 4

10 grL F x Cu F 60 grL 10 grL F x H 2 SO 4 F 180 grL

where the density and species concentrations are expressed in grL.

H. Aminian et al. r Hydrometallurgy 56 (2000) 1331

21

The species mass conservation equations are written as: Q in x iin y Q out x iout " Pi s 0

27 .

where x i is the species i concentration expressed as grL in the cell. Tracer tests conducted on a pilot electrochemical cell show that the cell behaves closely to a perfect mixer w20x, i.e., that the discharged stream has the same composition as the electrolyte in the tank, so that: x i s x iout , where x i is the species i concentration in the cell. The rate of formation or consumption of species i is deduced from Faradays law: Pi s wi c i I zi F

28 .

where P is in grmin, wi stands for the molecular weight of species i , I the total electric current flowing from the anode to the cathode, F the Faraday constant of 96,500 Crequivalent mole, z i the number of electrons involved in the reaction and c i the proportion of the total electric current that contributes to the reaction leading to the formation or consumption of species i. The variable c i is referred to the current efficiency if species i is the electro was species. The simulation of an EW cell requires one to predict, for a given cell voltage, the composition of the discharged solution and the current circulating within the circuit from the feed electrolyte composition and flow rate. The methodology followed in this study assumes that each anodecathode couple operates as the electrical circuit shown in Fig. 4. The total cell voltage, UT , is used to push the electric current through the anodic and cathodic busbars and connection resistances R H,a and R H,c ., the electrolyte resistance

Fig. 4. Electrical circuit of copper EW.

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H. Aminian et al. r Hydrometallurgy 56 (2000) 1331

R s . and through the reaction branches at the anode and cathode for which the voltage drops are respectively Ua and Uc . Since the sum of the voltage drops should vanish, one can write: UT s IR H ,a q IR H ,c q IR s q Ua q Uc

29 .

where I is the total current flow in the circuit. The hardware resistances R H,a and R H,c . are usually maintained as small as possible to optimize the energy utilization. The electrical resistance of a copper sulfate solution is calculated using the empirical relationship w19x R s s d 0.134 y 0.00356 x Cu q 0.00249 x H 2 SO 4 .
y1

10 grL F x Cu F 60 grL 10 grL F x H 2 SO 4 F 180 grL

30 .
where d is the distance cm. between the anode and the cathode and R s is expressed in ohms V .. The estimation of the voltage drops at the anode and cathode is the key to the simulation of the EW process. As it is shown in Fig. 5, several reactions can occur at the cathode and at the anode. Only one electrochemical reaction is first considered to describe the model used to predict the microscopic transfer and reaction occurring at the electrode. The model is then extended to incorporate the other electrode reactions.

Fig. 5. Schematic view of an electrode surface.

H. Aminian et al. r Hydrometallurgy 56 (2000) 1331 Table 1 Standard potentials for some reactions System Feq2 q2ey Fe Hq qey 1r2H 2 Cuq 2 q2ey Cu Feq3 qey Feq 2 4Hq qO 2 q2ey H 2 O

23

Volts y0.44 0.0 q0.34 q0.77 q1.23

Fig. 5 shows a schematic view of an electrode surface and of the diffusion layer between the surface and the bulk solution. For the presentation, the reaction: Aqz q z ey

mA

31 .

is considered. In order to proceed, the free energy of reaction 31 has to be negative, otherwise, energy would have to be provided by an external source. The free energy of an electrochemical reaction is related to its reversible potential calculated using the Nernsts equation: EsE0 y RT zF ln a A ,E a Aq ,E

32 .

where R is the gas constant, T the temperature of the solution K., z the number of electrons exchanged in the reaction, E 0 the standard potential of the reaction for which the reactants and products have unit activities and a i,E the species i activity at the electrode surface. The standard potentials of some reactions are given, with reference to hydrogen which is assumed to have a zero reversible potential, in Table 1. A positive reversible potential implies that the reaction will proceed in the direction shown in Eq. 31 without external voltage. The activity of a species at the electrode is estimated from its molar concentration assuming that Raoults law is valid. If the reversible potential is positive or if the voltage drop at the electrode is larger than the reversible potential, then the reaction will proceed at a rate that is controlled by the electron transfer rate at the electrode and the diffusion rate of reactants from the solution to the electrode and of the products back to the solution. The rate of electron transfer in molrmin, f R , is approximated using w21x: fR s 1 zF
a 1y a a h y 1y a . h Si o a A RT ,E a A qz ,E e RT y e
zF zF

33 .

where a 0 F a - 1. is a charge transfer coefficient, S is the area of the electrode cm2 ., i o is the standard current density Arcm2 ., and h the overvoltage given by:

h s UE q E

34 .

where UE is the voltage drop at the electrode and E the reversible potential.The diffusion rate of reactants to the electrode is given by: f D , Aqs m Aq x Aq ,S y x Aq ,E .

35 .

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H. Aminian et al. r Hydrometallurgy 56 (2000) 1331

where m A is the mass transfer coefficient of species A and x A ,S is the concentration of species A in the bulk solution. The diffusion rate of products from the electrode to the solution is given by: f D , A s m A x A ,S y x A ,E .

36 .

If the product of the reaction is plated on the electrode surface, there is no rate of diffusion back to the electrolyte. For a steady-state operation, considering the stoichiometry of Eq. 31, one should have: f R s f D , A s f D , Aqs f

37 .

which has to be solved to calculate the species activities at the electrode surface. When several reactions occur at an electrode, the equality of Eq. 27 has to be solved for each electrochemical reaction. The overall rate of reaction and transfer for each reaction j, at an electrode is given by: Ij s f j z j F s Pj z j F wj

38 .

where wj is the molecular weight of species j, I j the current used for reaction j and Pj the rate grmin. of production or consumption of species j. The total current passing though an electrode is given by:
NR

I s Ij
js 1

39 .

and must be equal to the current at the other electrode, i.e.,

Na js 1 Nc

I s Ianodic s Ia , j s Icathodic s Ic , j
js 1

40 .

where Na and Nc are respectively the number of reactions occurring at the anode and at the cathode. The EW cell model parameters, mainly the standard current density i o j , the mass transfer coefficient m j , and the a coefficient for each reaction are calibrated from laboratory experiments as well as from tests carried out in the studied pilot plant. The calibration nevertheless remains very approximate, but the objective here is to propose a model that approximates the actual mechanisms without being too empirical. Preliminary simulation results show that the approach provides sufficient robustness and allows a larger field of applications than empirical models would do. The procedure for the simulation of the EW cell involves balancing the electrochemical reactions for a given solution composition and balancing the species conservation in the cell according to the calculated current flow. The input variables for the simulation are the strong electrolyte feed rate and composition, the cell voltage and the hardware

H. Aminian et al. r Hydrometallurgy 56 (2000) 1331

25

resistance. The first iteration assumes that the electrolyte in the cell has the same composition as the feed solution. An initial value of the voltage drop at the cathode is then used to calculate the cathodic current by solving the equality of Eq. 27. Using the calculated current density the voltage drop at the anode is evaluated by: Ua s UT y Uc y I R H ,a q R H ,c q R s .

41 .

and the resulting value is used to estimate the anodic current. If the anodic current is different from the cathodic current, the voltage drop at the cathode is modified and the iteration is repeated until the calculated anodic and cathodic currents become equal. Using the estimated current, the rate of species production and consumption are readily calculated allowing an estimation of the discharged electrolyte composition. Using the new electrolyte composition, another estimate of the electrical current is calculated according to the procedure described above. The procedure is repeated until the electrolyte composition converges to stable values. If the EW cells are part of a SXEW circuit, the procedure for simulation has to be repeated until the complete circuit, i.e., the extraction, stripping and EW stages, converges to final values. Strategies to accelerate the convergence of all the calculations are currently under study.

5. Model calibration Model calibration requires estimation of the rate constants k r and the mass transfer coefficients m of the different species for the SX model, as well as the standard current

Fig. 6. Gaspe SXEW flowsheet.

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H. Aminian et al. r Hydrometallurgy 56 (2000) 1331

Table 2 Inputs to the simulator leached solution. Copper grL. Iron grL. pH Total EW cell voltage V. EW cell temperature 8C. Anodecathode distance m. Cathode surface m2 . 1.96 8.54 1.78 2 55 0.03 1.8

density i o j and the a coefficients for EW rate process. The partial reaction orders for the SX model are assumed to be one m s n s p s 1. and the relationships obtained by Fleming et al. w22x and Rod et al. w23x for the mass transfer coefficients for copper SX, i.e., m Cu s m RH s 2 m CuR 2 s 0.1 m H

42 .

are used to reduce the number of unknown parameters. The equilibrium constants were estimated from laboratory SX tests w8x. The rate constants, mass transfer coefficients, standard current density and a coefficients were estimated from literature data and by using the results of two sampling campaigns carried out on the studied SXEW pilot plant. Fig. 6 shows the SXEW pilot plant with the positions of the collected samples that were used to determine the liquid phase flow rates and compositions of the corresponding streams. Parameter estimation was performed using the SXEW simulator running with the input variables listed in Table 2 and unknown parameters provided by a non-linear optimisation algorithm. The simulator provides values for the output variables listed in Table 3, that are used to calculate the following least squares criterion: J unknown parameters. s yi y y i .
2

where yi is a measured variable obtained from the plant sampling and y i the corresponding value generated by the simulator. The estimation procedure is shown in Fig. 7

Table 3 Simulated results vs. pilot plant data Stream Cu grL. Observed Feed 1. Extraction 1 aqueous 2. Extraction 1 organic 3. Extraction 2 aqueous raffinate. 4. Extraction 2 organic 5. Strong electrolyte 6. Spent electrolyte 7. Stripped organic 8. 1.96 0.96 2.36 0.18 1.48 51.7 46.7 0.88 Simulated 1.96 0.87 2.06 0.42 1.37 51.5 45.6 0.81 Fe grL. Observed 8.54 8.62 0.04 8.66 0.04 1.44 1.5 0.04 Simulated 8.54 8.49 0.037 8.29 0.037 0.032 0.032 0.003

H. Aminian et al. r Hydrometallurgy 56 (2000) 1331

27

Fig. 7. Optimisation procedure for calculating the mass transfer and back reaction coefficients.

and the calibrated parameters are given in Table 4. The estimated values of the considered output variables are given in Table 3. The observed results are in good agreement with the simulated data. However, the observed concentrations of iron in the spent and strong electrolytes differ from those of the simulation results. The lower simulated iron content can be explained by the fact that the iron can be transferred from the extraction stage to the stripping mixersettler by the crud or by the droplets of aqueous phase captured in the organic solution of the first extraction stage see Fig. 1.. This phenomenon is not incorporated in the simulator. The transfer of iron from the aqueous to the organic phase in the SX process is minimum as it was shown by laboratory tests and pilot plant data w8x.

6. Process simulation The calibrated simulator was used to simulate the SXrEW circuit of Gaspe mines for operating conditions prevailing during sampling campaigns that were not used for the

28 Table 4 Estimated model parameters Parameter SX model (cm r s) m Cu m Fe m FeR 3 k r Cu k rFe EW model a Cu a Fe q3 a Fe q2 a H 2O m Cu m Fe q3 mH 2O m Fe q2 o i Cu o q2 i Fe o q3 i Fe o iH 2O

H. Aminian et al. r Hydrometallurgy 56 (2000) 1331

Value 3.77=10y3 6.14=10y 4 3.03=10y 3 4.2=10y1 5.8=10y 3

0.62 0.1 0.1 0.2 12.2=10y2 cmrs. 3.01=10y 2 cmrs. 2.01=10y 2 cmrs. 4.03=10y2 cmrs. 2.3=10y 3 Arcm2 . 1.2=10y 7 Arcm2 . 3.1=10y 6 Arcm2 . 2.06=10y 8 Arcm2 .

model calibration. The input variables are listed in Table 5 and the simulated results are compared with the experimental ones in Table 6. The simulation gives acceptable results despite the assumptions made for the mass transfer and rate of the chemical reaction. The simulation predicts that iron will only be marginally extracted by the organic phase and this result is confirmed by pilot plant and laboratory experiments. The validated simulator was used to analyse the influence of different parameters such as the concentration of copper in the leached solution, the cell voltage and the ratio of phases flow rate of aqueous phaserflow rate of organic phase. on the behaviour of the process. Fig. 8 shows the effect of the concentration of copper in the leach solution

Table 5 Inputs for the simulator validation Copper grL. Iron grL. pH Total EW cell voltage V. EW cell temperature 8C. Anodecathode distance m. Cathode surface m2 . 2.22 10.48 1.46 2 55 0.03 1.8

H. Aminian et al. r Hydrometallurgy 56 (2000) 1331 Table 6 Simulated results vs. pilot plant data Stream Cu grL. Observed Feed 1. Extraction 1 aqueous 2. Extraction 1 organic 3. Extraction 2 aqueous raffinate. 4. Extraction 2 organic 5. Strong electrolyte 6. Spent electrolyte 7. Stripped organic 8. 2.22 1.46 1.96 0.48 1.4 51.4 43.6 0.88 Simulated 2.22 1.24 2.03 0.65 1.38 51.09 45.9 0.91 Fe grL. Observed 10.48 10.4 0.04 10.38 0.04 0.3 0.3 0.51 Simulated 10.48 10.23 0.04 10.37 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.003

29

on the concentration of copper in the electrolyte and on the current efficiency. Results show that any increase of copper content in the aqueous feed solution of the SX circuit leads to an increase of the copper concentration in the strong and spent electrolytes which leads to higher current efficiency. The influence of voltage on the concentration of copper in the spent electrolyte and on the current efficiency is shown in Fig. 9. The results show that with an increase of the voltage, the concentration of copper in the spent electrolyte decreases while the current efficiency increases. Finally, Fig. 10 shows that

Fig. 8. Influence of copper concentration in the leached solution.

Fig. 9. Influence of cell voltage in the EW circuit.

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H. Aminian et al. r Hydrometallurgy 56 (2000) 1331

Fig.10. Influence of phase ratio on the copper concentration in raffinate.

the concentration of copper in the raffinate increases with the aqueous to organic phase ratio, a result consistent with plant observations.

7. Conclusion Models for the copper SX and EW processes were developed and calibrated to simulate an integrated circuit of SX and EW. The unknown parameters of the models have been estimated using an optimisation routine operating on the SXEW simulator. The simulated results agree well with the observed data. Work is in progress to incorporate a model for ore leaching LIX. to the SXEW simulator as the raffinate that is re-circulated to the leached piles may become saturated with iron leading to a different behaviour of the process. Once a complete LIXSXEW model has been developed and calibrated, it will be used for process simulation, optimisation, design and ultimately control. In the meantime, the SXEW simulator is used to improve our understanding of the process and to study the influence of process variables on the current efficiency and recovery of copper and iron from the leached solutions.

Acknowledgements The authors are grateful to Noranda, Mines Gaspe for their collaboration and permission to present the paper. The financial support of the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada is also acknowledged.

References
w1x S. Kral, MEMS meeting focuses on economic globalisation of mining, Min. Eng. 50 10. 1998. 5660. w2x D. Scott, Gibraltar dump leaching, The Northern Miner Mag. 1991. 1415, Sept.Oct. w3x T.W. Cadman, C.K. Hsu, Dynamics and control of a multi-stage liquid extraction, Trans. Inst. Chem. Eng. 48 1970. T209T226. w4x F.M.Gomez, The dynamic behaviour of mixersettlers. PhD thesis, University of Bradford, UK, 1980.

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