MINI REVIEW article

Front. Chem. Eng.

Sec. Separation Processes

Volume 7 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fceng.2025.1613424

Leaching of copper slags in sulphuric acid and alkaline glycine media

Provisionally accepted
Mauricio MuraMauricio Mura1Ignacio CastilloIgnacio Castillo2Pía C HernándezPía C Hernández1Felipe M. Galleguillos MadridFelipe M. Galleguillos Madrid1Eleazar SalinasEleazar Salinas3Jonathan CastilloJonathan Castillo4Álvaro SolizÁlvaro Soliz4Edelmira GalvezEdelmira Galvez5Norman ToroNorman Toro2*
  • 1University of Antofagasta, Antofagasta, Chile
  • 2Arturo Prat University, Iquique, Chile
  • 3Autonomous University of the State of Hidalgo, Pachuca, Hidalgo, Mexico
  • 4Universidad de Atacama, Copiapó, Chile
  • 5Catholic University of the North, Antofagasta, Antofagasta, Chile

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Copper slag is industrial waste, having fayalite and magnetite as main phases, copper is present in the form of chalcopyrite and chalcosine. However, the complex structure of the slag makes the dissolution process difficult, which is why methods have been used to recover metals with leaching in sulfuric acid media as a traditional technique. however, the use of new leaching agents has been implemented, for instance, glycine. The operating parameters such as concentration, temperature, particle size are compared in these leaching media, highlighting glycine with high selectivity and efficiency unlike sulfuric acid in alkaline conditions to leach copper. In this study, the efficiency of glycine as a leaching agent for copper recovery will be revised.

Keywords: Leaching1, Acid Sulphuric2, Slag3, copper4, Glycine5

Received: 17 Apr 2025; Accepted: 20 May 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Mura, Castillo, Hernández, Galleguillos Madrid, Salinas, Castillo, Soliz, Galvez and Toro. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Norman Toro, Arturo Prat University, Iquique, Chile

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

Supplementary Material