Catalytic Effect of a Combined Silver and Surfactant Catalyst on Cobalt Ore Bioleaching

the effects of ag+, surfactants, and their combination on cobalt ore bioleaching were investigated in this article. ag+ ions and surfactants, either individually or in combination, can significantly accelerate mineral dissolution and increase metal leaching efficiencies. when 20 mg l−1 ag+ was added, the cobalt and copper leaching efficiencies increased from 67.8% and 58.5% to 94.3% and 80.7%, respectively. in addition, in the presence of 150 mg l−1 tween-20, the cobalt and copper leaching efficiencies increased by more than 25% and 11%, respectively. a similar trend was observed with tween-60 and tween-80. when a combined catalyst of ag+ ions and surfactant was employed, the cobalt and copper leaching efficiencies increased by more than 23% and 10%, respectively. moreover, the leaching time decreased by one quarter. the catalytic effect of the combined catalyst was more significant than that of a single catalyst.