Diseño de la biolixiviación en continuo para la gestión de residuos piríticos

The current combination of increased metal demand, scarcity of natural resources, and environmental demands exacerbated by Climate Change creates an ideal scenario for the implementation of more sustainable technologies for the valorization of available resources. Currently, biohydrometallurgical biotechnologies applied to the mining and metallurgical sectors are used industrially for Cu production and as a pretreatment of Au ores and concentrates. Environmental applications are still in the research, development, and demonstration phase of their potential technical and economic viability. In this context, and with the aim of contributing to the development of bioleaching in environmental applications, this Doctoral Thesis is presented, offering a new technological proposal based on the continuous operation in a cascade of equal-sized reactors without the addition of pH-correcting reagents, with the goal of minimizinga pyritic mining residue from a Cu concentration mineralurgical process. After the characterization of this residue and the microbial culture used, and the optimization of the operational conditions of pulps density and temperature, a cascade of 4 reactors in series with an initial tank as a repulper was design and built. From the continuous operation of the cascade, high values of conversion and consequent weight losses of the mining residue were obtained, validating this biotecnology up to an intermediate degree of technological maturity. These results served as the basis of a preliminary economic study that, in comparison with the predominant technology, revealed a reduction in operational costs associated with reagents.

Author dc:creator

• Moreno-Pérez, Martín

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Mazuelos Rojas, Alfonso

Statement dc:rights

• Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/11441/179028

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:idus.us.es:11441/179028