Bioleaching of different copper sulfides by Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans and its adsorption on minerals

• A suitable amount of initial ferrous ions can promote bioleaching of copper.
• The leaching order of five copper sulfide minerals by At.f LD-1 has been obtained.
• The order of adsorption quantity is the same as copper extraction order.
• Bacterial adsorption are well described by Langmuir adsorption isotherm model.

The bioleaching of five different copper sulfide minerals (djurleite, bornite, covellite, massive sulfide copper and porphyry chalcopyrite) by Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans (At.f LD-1) and the adsorption behavior of At.f LD-1 on mineral surfaces were investigated. Bioleaching experiments show that the copper extraction of the five different copper sulfide minerals increased by adding proper amounts of ferrous ions in the early leaching period. The copper extraction followed the order djurleite > bornite > massive sulfide copper > covellite > porphyry chalcopyrite. The bacterial adsorption experiments indicate that the adsorption isotherms can be well described by Langmuir adsorption isotherm model. Under pH 2 and adsorption equilibrium, the bacterial adsorption quantity on the five copper sulfide minerals showed the same order as that of copper extraction.