The tips about activated carbon for gold refining 2022

December 23, 2021
In this blog post, we will introduce you to activated carbon for gold refining, why coconut shell carbon is used? And how to judge the quality of the carbon? How to choose a supplier? Start enjoying!

Overthe past few years, the gold price has steadily increased. But this is not theend, and this upward trend is expected to continue in the coming years. Times have changed and gold is becoming increasingly important as a currency becauseof the global epidemic(COVID-19) and local political unrest. As a result, the demand for gold is steadily increasing.

Activated carbon is an important tool in the gold beneficiation process to separate goldthat has been dissolved in cyanide solutions, allowing it to be recovered.

activated carbon for mining gold
Activated carbon for mining gold

How dees activated carbon work?

Activated carbon is a material produced from a carbon-rich source that has an incredibly porous surface structure that produces a huge surface area for adsorbing materials. This diverse material is used in many industries to remove contaminants from liquids or gases, such as water purification, scrubbing ofgaseous contaminants in industrial processing facilities, and even in the foodand beverage industry to ensure product quality.

What is CIP/CIL/CIC gold extraction application?

  • CIP(Carbon in Pulp): gold pulp is mixed with sodium cyanide, then is contacted withactivated carbon in a series of large agitated adsorption tanks.
  • CIL(Carbon in Leach): similar to CIP but leaching and adsorption occur simultaneously.
  • CIC(Carbon in Column) for Heap leaching: dilute cyanide solution percolate over aheap of crushed ores and is then pumped through activated carbon columns.

What is the process of the heap leaching method for gold extraction?

Forthe gold bearing ore, first people need to crush the ore into small pieces, andtransport to gather them together. Then heap dipping it with NaOH or NaCN.

Cyanideis a lixiviant, or reagent that is used to leach, often in tanks, gold from asolid matrix and form a gold cyanide complex. The gold cyanide complex is thenextracted from the pulp or slurry by adsorption onto activated carbon.

Thisis a gold extraction process called cyanidation where carbon is added to theleach tanks (or reaction vessel) so that leaching and adsorption take place inthe same tanks.

Andit will come out the rough gold from it. The rough gold will be processed intofine gold.

Gold refining process
Gold refining process

What is the most popular activated carbon for gold extraction? Howto choose the right activated carbon?

It is important to choose the most suitable activated carbon for the process ofthe gold recovery because each loss of activated carbon stands for a reductionof the gold output. Coconut shell-activated carbon is the first choice. It isthe key element in CIC, CIL, and CIP processes. Coconut shell carbon is widelyused for a couple of reasons.

  1. The hardness is very good, it is high than other raw materials of activatedcarbons, like coal or apricot shell. So during gold mining, it is not easy towear.
  2. It is with well-developed micropores, so for coconut activated carbon, it isvery suitable for gold mine to reduce gold losses.

Alsoparticle size distribution is another key factor in the selection of activatedcarbon for gold recovery, as it is largely related to the adsorption rate. Forgold minning, 6*12mesh coconut shell activated carbon is preferred. Becausethis particle size can take into account the adsorption capacity and at thesame time has a good adsorption speed.

What is the important index for the coconut shell activated carbon?

R - valuereflects the gold adsorption rate and the kinetic properties of the activatedcarbon. The percentage of gold adsorbed after 1 h from a prepared 10 mg Au/l solutionis known as “R-value”.

K - Valuereflects the gold adsorption capacity at equilibrium. It is issued from the Freundlich adsorption is other mof pulverized activated carbon in a 1 mg gold/liter solution.

Activated carbon CTC - The index to check the adsorption performance of activated carbon (we often provide CTC55 or CTC60 coconut carbon)

How to simply check the quality of coconut shell activated carbon?

  • Firstof all, good quality coconut shell carbon is very plump and uniform, it has agood look.
  • Secondly,we can put it in water. If the bubbles are more and very vigorous, the better it is.
  • Third,feel the weight. If you feel very light, it's better. Because there are morepores, the absorption will be better.
Activated carbon micropore
Activated carbon adsorption test

Our activated carbons are manufactured from selected highest quality coconut shellsin order to achieve outstandinghardness and attrition resistance. The highly developed micro porous porestructure suits particularlyto provide the best adsorption from aqueous cyanide solutions in CIP, CIL and CIC systems.

Choose your activated carbon supplier

Zhulin activated carbon products meet the national standards for gold recovery applications. Our modern manufacturing facilities offer high quality productsfor fast delivery worldwide. Our technical expertise and supply capabilitieswill provide you with the most cost effective solution for your gold recovery application.

Please feel free to contact us for any questions or quotations on gold activated carbon, you can also use the inquiry form below.

Hello, we are Zhulin Activated Carbon Company, and we have been in this field for more than 20 years. If you want to wholesale activated carbon or related products, please feel free to ask me any questions.
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