Activated carbon for tail-liquor recovery
Product Description:
Activated carbon for tailings solution recovery is a specialized type of granular activated carbon designed for gold extraction. It is primarily used in gold mining operations—specifically in cyanide heap leaching or carbon-in-pulp (CIP) processes—to adsorb residual gold-cyanide complexes from the tailings solution. Additionally, it captures certain cyanides and heavy metals, thereby serving the dual purpose of recovering residual gold and purifying the tailings effluent.
Raw materials and principles
Raw materials: Primarily coconut shell charcoal or apricot shell (fruit shell) charcoal, processed via high-temperature carbonization followed by steam activation. This results in a well-developed pore structure, which provides strong, selective adsorption for gold-cyanide complexes.
Principle: Physical adsorption—gold-cyanide complex ions dissolved in the tailings solution are trapped within the micropores of the charcoal. Once the charcoal becomes saturated with gold, the gold can be desorbed and recovered through electrolysis; the activated charcoal is then regenerated for reuse.
Specification：
| Project | Index | |
| Particle size 6-12 mesh | % | ≥95 |
| Iodine value | mg/g | ≥900 |
| Intensity | % | ≥95 |
| Water content | % | ≤10 |
| Apparent density | g/ml | 0.4-0.5 |
Advantages
Can be regenerated repeatedly, reducing the cost of consumables; improves the recovery rate of residual gold from tailings solutions, thereby increasing mining revenue.
- High selectivity for gold-cyanide complexes with rapid adsorption kinetics
- High mechanical strength; resistant to hydraulic erosion and less prone to fragmentation
- Can be desorbed and regenerated for multiple cycles of use
- Also helps reduce the concentration of cyanide and heavy metals in tailings solutions
Processes and Application Scenarios
1. CIC (Carbon-in-Column) adsorption: The most common method, where tailings solution is passed continuously through activated carbon columns to recover residual gold; primarily used for tailings solutions from heap-leaching operations.
2. Deep recovery of gold from final tailings solutions in processes utilizing CIP (Carbon-in-Pulp) or CIL (Carbon-in-Leach) circuits.
3. Simultaneous removal of certain cyanides and heavy metals from the tailings solution, thereby reducing the level of pollutants in discharged effluent and ensuring compliance with environmental regulations.
