Abstract: The effects of particle size on the bioleaching of iron from naturally occurring silica sand with Aspergillus niger have been studied. Bioleaching tests were carried out with five different particle size fractions of silica sand, +120-212µm, +212-300µm, +300-425µm, +425-650µm and +650-1000µm at room temperature of 30±20C. It was only with the particle size, +120-212µm was the iron content of sand reduced to 0.11% which met the British standard for production of F and G grades of glass products. The experimental data were correlated with the chemical reaction model and ash layer diffusion equations of the Shrinking core model and a mixed kinetic model, which is a combination of both. The chemical reaction equation failed to represent the data; ash layer diffusion accounted for bioleaching of iron between day 21 to day 30. The mixed model largely represented the bioleaching process for the 30 days.
Keywords: Silica Sand, Aspergillus niger, Bioleaching, Iron, Particle Size, Kinetic Models, Shrinking core.
Title: Effects of Particle Size on Bioleaching of Iron from Silica Sand Fitted to Shrinking Core and Mixed Kinetic Models
Author: O. C. N. Ndukwe, T. F. Eze
International Journal of Engineering Research and Reviews
ISSN 2348-697X (Online)
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