Physical Properties Variability of Zinc Powders Obtained by Electrochemical Method

The aim of this paper is to establish a regulatory change of zinc powders key physicochemical properties with varying electroextraction conditions. It was studied influence zinc concentration, alkali concentration and current density. Quantitative dependencies of zinc powders particle size and specific surface area from mentioned electroextraction parameters are shown. At increasing of zinc concentration, decreasing of NaOH concentration and decreasing of current density of powders particle size growth, correspondingly specific surface area is declined. It is indicated, that electrolytic zinc powders bulk density varies from 0.61 g/cm3 to 0.75 g/cm3 with a decrease of average particle size from 121 μm to 68 μm. In comparison, spherical powders bulk density used in various industries is currently 2.45-2.6 g/cm3. In all experiments, metal zinc content varied in the range of 91.1-92.5%, the rest - ZnO. To a greater extent, this indicator depends on powder washing quality from alkali and storage conditions.

Kinetic features of gold cementation using dendritic zinc powders

The study covers kinetic features of gold cementation from cyanide solutions using two zinc powders of various origins. The first one was obtained by distillation and is currently applied in gold cementation from cyanide solutions (traditional powder). The second one was obtained by electrochemical reduction from the alkaline solution (experimental, electrolytic powder). The main distinguishing feature of these cementation powders is their specific surface area. This indicator for the electrolytic powder is 2.6 times higher than for the traditional one (3.02 m2 /g and 1.16 m2 /g, respectively) due to its dendritic form. The studies used a solution with a gold content of 50.8 μmol/dm3 and a sodium cyanide content of 0.04 mol/dm3 NaCN was taken. Cementation revealed a powder depassivation period associated with oxide film dissolution and overcoming diffusion difficulties. The traditional powder depassivation period (10–15 sec) exceeds that of the electrolytic powder (5–8 sec). Experimental rate constants of the cementation reaction were determined for the process involving both powders under study at different ratios of zinc and gold masses in the solution. Experimental reaction rate constants for the electrolytic powder under the studied conditions were 1.3– 1.6 times higher than that for the traditional powder. It was found that oxidation rates of zinc powders compared at different ratios of zinc and gold masses are virtually the same. At the same time, absolute rates of electrolytic powder dissolution in the initial period are nearly 2 times greater. As the powder reacts with the alkaline solution, absolute dissolution rates of electrolytic and traditional powders are equalized.

Gold Cementation by Dendritic Zinc Powders in Percolation Mode

In present article gold cementation features from cyanide solutions using dendritic zinc powders are studied. The powders were obtained by electroextraction from alkaline solutions. Powders with different physical properties were obtained by means of change in current density (from 0.5 to 2 A/m2) and NaOH concentration in solution (from 100 to 400 g/dm3) at the constant zinc concentration (10 g/dm3). The physical properties of mentioned powders were studied using SEM (Jeol JSM-6390LA), BET (Gemini VII 2390) and laser diffraction (Sympatec HELOS & RODOS). It is shown that electrolytic powders have high specific surface area, which is 1.8–2.6 times larger than the surface area of ​​the zinc powder currently used for cementation. At that electrolytic powders particle size is 8-22 times larger than the particle size of powder currently used for cementation. The reason of high specific surface area is the electrolytic zinc powders dendritic structure. It was found that the obtained powders precipitate gold from cyanide solutions with a greater efficiency in a wide range of productivity. Laboratory unit simulating Merrill-Crow technology was used for cementation. Immediately ahead conducting the experiments, Na2SO3 was added to the solution in excess to remove dissolved oxygen. Zinc powders were plated by dendritic lead before loading into the laboratory setup by cementation. Lead was added as acetate (Pb (CH3COO)2). The consumption of lead acetate was 10% by weight of zinc. Correlation between the powders physical properties and the gold extraction is shown.

Features of gold cementation in percolation mode by electrolytic zinc powders

The study covers physicochemical features of dendritic zinc powders and their effect on gold cementation from cyanide solutions. Three zinc powders were obtained in a laboratory environment by electroextraction at different conditions, and these powders featured various particle size and specific surface area. The properties of zinc powders obtained and powder currently used for gold cementation were evaluated using SEM (Jeol JSM-6390LA), BET (Gemini VII 2390) and laser diffraction (Sympatec HELOS & RODOS) methods. It is shown that electrolytic powders have high specific surface area (1.3–2.6 times more) and a low bulk density (3.1–3.8 times less), relative to zinc powder currently used for gold cementation. It was found that due to specific physical properties electrolytic powders have low hydraulic resistance, which eliminates the need for inert additives introduced during cementation, increases unit capacity and reduces the load on equipment. Inert additives elimination will additionally increase the gold content in the resulting product. The dendritic morfology of zinc powders obtained compensates high particle size resulting in the high efficiency of gold precipitation. At the long cementation cycle the effective gold deposition area (with gold extraction of more than 97 %) turned out to be shorter for electrolytic powder compared to fine powder currently used. However, in practice, the cementation cycle is always limited by fine powder throughput and it is not possible to achieve the full zinc potential. The resulting cementation product usually contains 25–35 % of unused zinc. These studies show the effectiveness of using electrolytic zinc powder for gold cementation from cyanide solutions.