This work aims the recycling of cyanide applying strong base ion exchange resins for the adsorption of metallic cyanocomplexes. The experiments were carried out with synthetic solutions simulating those found in the cyanidation of gold ores. The solutions are made up of copper, iron and zinc with concentrations raging from 50mg/L to 500mg/L. Batch adsorption experiments were carried out with two commercial strong base resins: Ionac SR-7 (polystyrene, tripropylammonium) and Dowex 1X8 (gel type, polystyrene, trimethylammonium). The tripropilammonium resin Ionac SR-7 presents a larger loading of zinc cyanide compared with those of copper and iron. The affinity sequence observed was Zn>Cu>Fe. Dowex 1X8 resin shows the highest uptake of both zinc and copper due to its high exchange capacity. The affinity sequence is similar to that of Ionac SR-7 resin. The different affinities achieved are discussed based on both the physic-chemical features of the complexes and the resin structure.
recovery; resins; ion exchange; cyanocomplexes
