KINETIC MODELING OF GOLD CYANIDE MULTICYCLE ADSORPTION AND ELUTION USING ACTIVATED CARBON IN THE PRESENCE OF FOULANTS

A novel procedure was used to study the kinetics of multiple exposure of a granular activated carbon in a laboratory-scale packed bed to solutions containing gold and sodium cyanide, or in addition one of several organic reagents commonly used in mineral processing. The repeated use of a carbon sample simulated the practice in industrial gold recovery operations. A batch, unsteady state adsorption model which assumed constant intraparticle diffusivity of Au(CN)2- Was used to model the kinetics of gold uptake. Upon repeated exposure of a carbon sample, up to a 3- to 4-fold decrease in the intraparticle diffusivity of Au(CN)2- was observed, combined with a much smaller loss of adsorption capacity.