Thermal stability investigation of sulfide minerals in DSC

The safe mining of sulfide ores requires knowledge of the stability/reactivity of the ores under a variety of conditions. This is a large part due to the oxidative self-heating behavior of these ores. In this study, an advanced kinetic simulation approach was used to evaluate the oxidative self-heating of sulfide-mineral concentrate. Kinetic parameters were determined on the basis of non-isothermal DSC measurements at different heating rates by Friedman and ASTM-E698 methods. The estimated kinetic parameters were employed to predict reaction progress under different temperature regimes. The calculated and experimental isothermal profiles suggest an autocatalytic behavior for mineral concentrate oxidation. The precise prediction of reaction rates/progress by an advanced kinetic-based simulation approach in this study is critical from a safe storage and handling perspective.