Active destruction of pyrite passivation by ozone oxidation of a biotic leaching system

Although pyrite bio-dissolution plays an important role in the processing of sulfide ores, the formation of passivation film inhibited the further dissolution of sulfide ores. In order to enhance the dissolution of sulfide ores, a novel method for destroying the passivation film using ozone was proposed and verified. The generated passivation film inhibiting pyrite dissolution in the presence of Leptospirillum ferrooxidans and Acidithiobacillus thiooxidans was studied. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results indicate that a passivation film mainly consisting of jarosite and polysulfide (S_n^n-/S⁰) might be formed during biotic stage, which can be eliminated with the introduction of ozone (2 g/min) in 30 min. Electrochemical results show that ozone significantly increased the electrochemical reactivity of passivated pyrite, further proving that ozone enhanced the dissolution of passivated pyrite through destroying the passivation layer. Hence, a bi-stage method for dissolution of sulfide ores can be proposed.