Preparation of Monoclinic Pyrrhotite by Thermal Decomposition of Jarosite Residues and Its Heavy Metal Removal Performance

Jarosite residues produced by zinc hydrometallurgical processing are hazardous solid wastes. In this study, monoclinic pyrrhotite (M­Po) was prepared by the pyrolysis of jarosite residues in H2S atmosphere. The influence of gas speed, reaction temperature, and time was considered. The mineral phase, microstructure, and elemental valence of the solids before and after pyrolysis were analyzed using X­ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and X­ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. The performances of the prepared M­Po on the removal of Zn and Pb from aqueous solution were evaluated. The results show M­Po to be the sole product at the reaction temperatures of 550 to 575 °C. Most of the M­Po particles are at the nanometer scale and display xenomorphic morphology. The phase evolution process during pyrolysis is suggested as jarosite → hematite/magnetite → pyrite → pyrite+M­Po → M­Po+hexagonal pyrrhotite (H­Po) → H­Po. The formation rate, crystallinity, and surface microtexture of M­Po are controlled by reaction temperature and time. Incomplete sulfidation may produce coarse particles with core–shell (where the core is oxide and the shell is sulfide) and triple-layer (where the core is sulfate, the interlayer is oxide, and the shell is sulfide) structures. M­Po produced at 575 °C exhibits an excellent heavy metal removal ability, which has adsorption capacities of 25 mg/g for Zn and 100 mg/g for Pb at 25 °C and pH ranges from 5 to 6. This study indicates that high-temperature sulfidation is a novel and efficient method for the treatment and utilization of jarosite residues.