Experimental study on acidification effect of tailing sand

Sulfide minerals (mainly FeS2) contained in lead-zinc tailings are easy to be acidified in the air. The acidification mechanism is that the tailing sand generates sulfuric acid and sulfate under the catalysis of oxidant, water and oxygen. The acidic liquid generated by the reaction will continue to react with metal oxides to form an insoluble precipitate.In order to reveal the corresponding changes of chemical properties and physical properties of lead-zinc tailing sand during acidification, a series of reaction processes of tailings under natural conditions were simulated by immersion test in laboratory.It is found through the test that with the deepening of acidification, the coarse particles of tailing sand dissolve, resulting in the decrease of iron concentration in the compound, the increase of fine particles, the increase of specific surface area, the decrease of surface friction and occlusion friction between particles, resulting in the decrease of internal friction angle, and the decrease of the safety of tailings dam. words.