The Effect of pH on Bioleaching of Deerni Pyrite Roasting Residues as Magnetic Materials

The experiment focused on the Deerni pyrite roasting residues mainly made of magnetic materials such as hematite and magnetite in Qinghai Deerni Copper Deposit. The method of bioleaching sulfuric acid residue by bacteria was proposed for roasting residues desulfurization and valuable metal extraction. First of all, the study systematically performed multi-elements analysis, which provided scientific and technique basis for extraction of valuable metals. Subsequently, the effect of the pH value on the bacterial growth was investigated. The data revealed that pH at 1.2 was the optimum culture condition for the bacteria. The concentration of the bacteria at the best culture condition reached 8.5×107 cells/mL. Finally, the bioleaching experiments were performed to explore the ability of the NB bacteria to oxidize the Deerni pyrite roasting residues. The study demonstrated that the microorganism was able to effectively extract valuable metals such as copper and zinc. The total Fe and sulfur contents of the bioleaching residues account for 68.38% and 0.39%, respectively. The desulfurization effects are evident and bioleaching residues meet the requirements as magnetic materials in steel making industry.