Radiotracer investigation in gold leaching tanks

Measurement and analysis of residence time distribution (RTD) is a classical method to investigate performance of chemical reactors. In the present investigation, the radioactive tracer technique was used to measure the RTD of aqueous phase in a series of gold leaching tanks at the Damang gold processing plant in Ghana. The objective of the investigation was to measure the effective volume of each tank and validate the design data after recent process intensification or revamping of the plant. I-131 was used as a radioactive tracer and was instantaneously injected into the feed stream of the first tank and monitored at the outlet of different tanks. Both sampling and online measurement methods were used to monitor the tracer concentration. The results of measurements indicated that both the methods provided identical RTD curves. The mean residence time (MRT) and effective volume of each tank was estimated. The tanks-in-series model with exchange between active and stagnant volume was used and found suitable to describe the flow structure of aqueous phase in the tanks. The estimated effective volume of the tanks and high degree of mixing in tanks could validate the design data and confirmed the expectation of the plant engineer after intensification of the process.

► I-131 radioactive tracer is suitable for tracing the aqueous phase in gold ore slurry.
► Online data collection is more convenient method for tracer monitoring in industrial process systems.
► The tanks-in-series model with exchange between active and stagnant zones is suitable to describe the flow behavior of leaching tanks.
► The radiotracer RTD technique could be used to validate design data after process intensification in gold leaching tanks.