Review of research progress on preparation of high-quality iron concentrate from pyrite cinder by desulphurization

The preparation of high-quality iron concentrate from pyrite cinder by means of desulphurization has potential industrial applications. On one hand, the comprehensive utilization of pyrite cinder can be achieved, while on the other hand, the environmental problems that it causes can be solved effectively. In this study, the desulfurization technology and its process flowsheet, as well as recent advances, were summarized in detail. There are mainly three desulfurization methods, namely, chemical leaching, combined process, and bioleaching method. Chemical leaching mainly involves the acid leaching and alkali leaching processes. The combined process contains the alkali-acid leaching process, flotation-magnetic separation, gravity separation-flotation, magnetic roasting-magnetic separation, etc. The technical features of these methods were introduced, and it is concluded that bioleaching has a potential application value. The research areas of bioleaching method in a future will be included as:the breeding of effective desulfurization bacteria, cyclic utilization of desulfurization water, synergistic recovery of valuable metals, and basic investigation and engineering technology research in the bioleaching desulfurization process.