A combined hydro-pyrometallurgical process for zinc oxide and iron oxide extraction from electric arc furnace dust waste

Electric arc furnace (EAF) dust waste is generated during EAF steelmaking process. Zinc and iron which comprise the highest composition in EAF dust are secondary resources for making steel products. They mainly present in the form of stable zinc ferrite (ZnFe2O4), leading to the extraction process difficult. In this study, a combined hydro-pyrometallurgical process was developed to extract both zinc oxide and iron oxide from EAF dust. Initially, hydrometallurgical leaching was used to leach zinc and iron from EAF dust. Results show that 10 M of hydrochloric acid (HCl) at 25°C can achieve zinc and iron leaching of 92% and 91%, respectively. The liquid solution post leaching was subjected to pyrometallurgical process to form Fe2O3 mixture at 250°C while retaining zinc chloride (ZnCl2) as solid residue. Then, the obtained ZnCl2 was treated with sodium hydroxide (NaOH) and nitric acid (HNO3) to form ZnO. The Fe2O3 and ZnO extraction were 2.5 g and 1.5 g, respectively out of 10 g of EAF dust with their respective purity of 87% and 98%. The developed process can provide new insight into recovering zinc oxide and iron oxide simultaneously from EAF dust, thereby paving the way to circular economy development and sustainable steel dust waste management for steel industries.

Understanding the behaviour of zinc and impurities during alkaline leaching of zinc bearing product obtained as a result of pyrometallurgical processing of ferrous metallurgy dusts and examining the phase composition of leaching residue

This paper describes a technique developed for processing EAF dusts and recovering zinc. The technique is based on the Waelz process without zinc sublimation and allows to obtain a product suitable for hydrometallurgical processing and clear of lead or halogens in one process stage. It would be feasible to use an alkaline hydrometallurgical process for this product as it enables a selective recovery of zinc while iron remains in the solid residue. A pyrometallurgical process is necessary to remove halogens, increase the solubility of zinc and remove lead. In the alkaline process, the latter transfers to the solution together with zinc. As part of the development procedure, the thermodynamics of lead and iron in alkaline medium was studied. For this, equilibrium diagrams were built in the Eh – рН coordinates. Findings: – zinc can dissolve at рН > 12.7 while forming the following anions: ZnO22– and [Zn(OH)n]2–n. A study that looked at leaching zinc ores confirms that anions of the latter type do form; – lead can dissolve while forming [Pb(ОН)6]2–-type hydroxo complexes at рН > 12.5. When the solution is heated to 80 oС, their solubility can reach 140 g/dm3. In a hot solution hydroxo complexes form orthoplumbite and orthoplumbate ions PbО22–, PbО32– as a result of dehydration; – the low solubility of all iron compounds in alkaline medium and their position in the diagram only defined by the pH range suggest that the leach solutions contain no iron ions of any type. With the temperature raised to 80 oС, the equilibria in the Fe – H2O system remains unchanged in alkaline medium and no significant increase in the solubility of iron compounds is observed. The findings show that selective dissolution of products containing zinc oxides (including EAF dusts after the above mentioned pyrometallurgical process) in alkaline solutions is feasible. The zinc leaching residue was analyzed for chemical and phase composition to find possible applications for it. It is demonstrated that calcium ferrites, aluminates and alumosilicates account for 80% of the residue. This iron-calcium material can be utilized by cement industry.

Thermal Oxidation of Indium, Germanium, and Tin from Lead-Bearing Alloys Generated in Zinc Refinement

According to European regulations, indium and germanium are critical metals. Therefore, their recovery is a crucial issue. The present study was focused on the pyrometallurgical treatment of polymetallic PbSnIn and PbSnCuGeIn generated at the Miasteczko Zinc Smelter in order to recover In and Ge. The paper presents the production process of these alloys, as well as their characteristics. The materials were subjected to thermal processing in a laboratory-scale refining kettle fired with natural gas and air. Two different methods for the processing of the individual alloys are described. Two series (one for each material) consisting of five tests were performed in order to determine the optimal metal recovery parameters. The described pyrometallurgical process resulted in the production of an indium-enriched semi-product (In—1.15%) and a Ge–In-enriched product (Ge—11.1%, In—3.0%). Direct indium recovery rates were approximately 83% and >99%, respectively.

Feasible Time for Extraction of Lead from Spent Paste by Pyrometallurgical Process

This paper focuses on determining the feasible time for production of lead from spent paste (SP) by pyrometallurgical process through the rotary furnace. The extraction process faces several problems due to difficulties to control reaction media conditions. The experiments had been done on rotary furnace which exists in a secondary lead smelter in Baghdad - Khan Dhary. The SP mainly consists of lead sulfate and lead oxides. The experiments are implemented at high temperatures (1300°C) for reduction and desulfurization. 20 experiments were designed to determine the feasible smelting cycle time. The weight of slag, matte, and lead bullion was determined in each experiment as well as the percent of lead in each phase. These data were analyzed and graphically represented. The reaction’s rate profile can be detailed in the following manner: (1) High rate during the first 90 smelting min. Low rate from 90 to 120 min. Very low rate after 120 min. (2) The feasible extraction time is between 120 and 130 min with average lead percent in slag not >8%. (3) The slag with lead percent higher than 5% is returned to the furnace whereas the lower one is extracted by the blast furnace.

The effect of addition of sodium sulphate (Na2SO4) to nickel slag pyrometallurgical process with temperature and additives ratio as variables

Nickel industry is one of the most strategic industries because its widely used. Nickel slag as a by-product of nickel processing presents the potential for improving process efficiency. In this study aim to determine the effect of the addition of sodium sulfate additives and also the temperature in the reduction process of nickel slag. The research was preceded by preparation of nickel slag samples with crushing and sieving up to 200 mesh. The nickel slag is then reduced at 800°C, 900°C and 1000°C temperature without adding sodium sulfate and by adding sodium sulfate with 1 hour holding time. Furthermore, the results of the reduction is done XRD and AAS testing to see changes in the content of elements and compounds in nickel slag that has been tested. The results of the study explain that the content of the dominant impurities which is in the form of SiO2 decreases as the temperature of the reduction and iron from Fe-rich Forsterite compounds will be liberated and will bind to sulfur derived from sodium sulfate to form troilite (FeS). This results in an increasing content of valuable minerals present in the nickel slag.