Abstract

A thermogravimetric study has been conducted to follow the decomposition and volatilization of arsenic from enargite concentrate in nitrogen and slightly oxidizing atmospheres. Temperature has a large effect on the rate of volatilization of arsenic. Fractional volatilization of arsenic as high as 98% were obtained in less than 60 min at 650°C in nitrogen atmosphere, while in slightly oxidizing atmosphere the same volatilization could be achieved in 30 min. It was found that arsenic volatilizes as sulfide in nitrogen atmosphere and as mixture of sulfide and oxide in atmospheres containing 1% oxygen. By using the pore blocking and the first order kinetic models, apparent activation energies of 213 and 200 kJ/mol for the temperature range of 780 - 900 K and 205 and 184 kJ/mol for the temperature range of 900 - 985 K were determined for enargite and copper concentrate, respectively.