ABSTRACT

A reductive leaching process of manganiferous ores by using industrial waste as reducing agents was carried out to study the technical feasibility of the process.The extractive treatment was performed in sulphuric acid media to obtain manganese sulphate. Glucose, lactose and whey were used as reducing agents. Lactose and whey were employed to simulate the possible reuse of industrial plant waste such as those of the cheese manufacturing. Experimental results showed that all the tested reducing agents were suitable for experimental application. The leaching tests by using glucose were performed both in a stirred tank reactor (STR) and in a fixed bed column in order to obtain useful information for a next plant design.