Abstract
A process has been developed for recovering zinc and other metal values from chloride-containing solid zinc waste materials such as zinc ash from galvanizing baths, and flue dusts from zinc smelting and Waelz processes. The waste is leached with a liquid organic phase containing a cation exchanger; the commercial carboxylic acid Versatic 911 is highly efficient for this operation. Halogens present in the organic phase are readily washed out with water. Zinc and other metal values are then selectively stripped with sulfuric acid, generating a neutral solution of zinc sulfate suitable for electrolytic production of zinc metal. Alternatively, zinc sulfate can be crystallized directly from the organic phase by stripping with concentrated sulfuric acid.
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References
G. Steintveit, F. Dyvik, G. Thorsen, and A. Hjem/oas, “Process for Treating Chloride-Containing Zinc Waste,” British Patent 1,366,380, 1974.
W.P. Ruemmler, “The Recovery of Zinc from Zinc Ash,” AIME Annual Meeting, San Francisco, February 1972; Chemical Engineering, June 12 (1972) p. 70–71.
G. Thorsen, “Process for Recovery of Zinc Values from Zinc Waste,” U.S. Patent 3,958,986, 1976; British Patent 1,463,104, 1974.
G. Thorsen, “Extraction and Separation of Metals from Solids Using Liquid Cation Exchangers,” U.S. Patent 4,008,134, 1977; British Patent 1,474,944, 1977.
A.J. Van der Zeeuw, “Purification of Zinc Calcine Leach Solutions by Exchange Extraction with the Zinc Salt of Versatic Acid,” Hydrometallurgy, 2 (1977) p. 275–284.
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Gunnar Thorsen is Associate Professor of Chemical Engineering at The Norwegian Institute of Technology, University of Trondheim, from which he received his PhD in engineering, in 1965. His early research was on fundamental problems of mass transfer in liquid-liquid extractions, and later work has focused on industrial applications of solvent extraction, with special emphasis on metal extraction. He has been an academic visitor to the University of Bradford (1970-71) and Imperial College, London (1977-78), for studies of solvent extraction and extractive metallurgy. He currently leads a research group for hydrometallurgical process developments working in close contact with metallurgical industry and industrial problems. He is a member of TMS-AIME.
Arne Grislingås is Senior Lecturer in Chemical Engineering at The Norwegian Institute of Technology, University of Trondheim, from where he received his PhD in engineering in 1976. His principal research interests are development of hydrometallurgical processes by the integration of leaching and solvent extraction operations. He is currently involved in projects on solvent extraction of iron in zinc and copper hydrometallurgy, and has specialized in direct reactions between base metal-bearing solids and liquid organic cation exchangers.
Georg Steintveit is Assistant Director at NORZINK, Norway, where he is responsible for external process developments and licensing. He joined NORZINK after graduating from The Norwegian Institute of Technology in 1941. He has traveled widely, taking part in a number of consultancy commissions and start-ups of zinc plants. He holds patents for the Jarosite process, extensively used worldwide in electrolytic zinc plants for removal of iron from zinc leach liquors. He is an elected member of The Norwegian Academy of Sciences.
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Thorsen, G., Grislingås, A. & Steintveit, G. Recovery of Zinc from Zinc Ash and Flue Dusts by Hydrometallurgical Processing. JOM 33, 24–29 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03354397
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03354397