Effect of chloride ion on bacterial pre-oxidation of arsenic-containing gold concentrate

Abstract

The bacterial pre-oxidation process of arsenic-containing gold concentrates and the bacterial activity under different chloride ion concentrations were studied by using a mixture of thermophilic strains TCJ domesticated in production. The experimental result shows that with different samples and leaching systems, the adaptability and Cl⁻ tolerance of bacteria are different, and that appropriate chloride ion concentration is conductive to bacterial oxidation, while higher chloride ion concentration will inhibit the bacterial activity and affect the pre-oxidation performance. Under the present production conditions, TCJ can adapt to the changes of water quality in the source of water and its critical chloride ion tolerance value is 2.7 g/L.

Keywords

chloride ions / arsenic-containing gold concentrate / pre-oxidation / bacterial adaptation / critical concentration