Following the growing demand for Ni and Co and the dwindling supplies of sulfide nickel ore, attention has turned toward the more efficient exploitation and utilization of laterite ore. Using ammonium chloride acid solution to leach is an effective method. Our research concerned investigations on the leaching mechanism and leaching kinetics of laterite. XRD was used to demonstrate the leaching mechanism through analysis of the pattern of the leaching residue and raw ore, showing that acid concentration affects the leaching process more significantly than other factors, and that valuable metals are mainly released from goethite and serpentine. The leaching order of these materials are as follows: Goethite > serpentine > magnetite and hematite. The leaching kinetics were analyzed and this leaching process followed a shrinking core model controlled by a combination of interfacial transfer and diffusion across the solid film. Leaching data fitted to the kinetic equation perfectly, and the apparent activation energies for the leaching of nickel, cobalt, and iron were calculated to be 4.01 kJ/mol, 3.43 kJ/mol, and 1.87 kJ/mol, respectively. The Arrhenius constants for Ni, Co, and Fe were 204.38, 16.65, and 7.12 × 10−3, respectively, with reaction orders of Ni (a 1.32, b 0.85, c 1.53), Co (a 1.74, b 1.12, c 1.22), and Fe (a 2.52, b −0.11, c 0.94).
Leaching Kinetics of Valuable Metals