Zinc leaching from electric arc furnace dust in alkaline medium

Abstract

Physical and chemical properties of electric arc furnace (EAF) dust from Tianjin seamless Pipe Company were measured and analyzed. The zinc leaching tests in alkaline medium were carried out under variation of leaching agent concentration, leaching temperature, leaching cumulative time and solid-to-liquid ratio. The thermodynamics and kinetics of the zinc leaching process were also analyzed. The results show that the EAF dust contains 10% (mass fraction) zinc and the median particle size is 0.69 μm. The zinc recovery of 73.4% is obtained under the condition of 90 °C, 6 mol/L NaOH, and 60 min leaching time. With the increase of concentration of NaOH and the cumulative time, zinc leaching will be significantly increased. The kinetics study demonstrates that the leaching reaction is chemically controlled and the reaction activation energy is 15.73 kJ/mol.

Keywords

electric arc furnace (EAF) dust / zinc leaching / hydrometallurgy / thermodynamics / leaching kinetics / recycling

References

[1] ChengT. W.. Combined glassification of EAF dust and incinerator fly ash [J]. Chemosphere, 2003, 50(1): 47-51

[2] NyirendaR. L.. The processing of steelmaking flue-dust: A review [J]. Minerals Engineering, 1991, 4(7/8/9/10/11): 1003-1025

[3] HagniA. M., HagniR. D., DemarsC.. Mineralogical characteristics of electric arc furnace dusts [J]. JOM, 1991, 43(4): 28-30

[4] JhaM. K., KumarV., SinghR. J.. Review of hydrometallurgical recovery of zinc from industrial wastes [J]. Resour Conserv Recycl, 2001, 33(1): 1-22

[5] IonescuD., MeadowcroftT. R., BarrP. V.. Glassification of EAF dust: The limits for Fe₂O₃ and ZnO content and an assessment of leach performance [J]. Canadian Metallurgical Quarterly, 1997, 36(4): 269-281

[6] SofilicT., Rastovcan-MiocA., Cerjan-StefanovicS., Novosel-RadovicV., JenkoM.. Characterization of steel mill electric-arc furnace dust [J]. J Hazard Mater B, 2004, 109(1): 59-70

[7] SmithS. M., ZhouX., NassarallaC. L.. A novel process for recycling steel-making dust [J]. Iron and Steel Maker, 2000, 27(2): 69-76

[8] HavlikT., TurzakovaM., StopicS., FriedrichB.. Atmospheric leaching of EAF dust with diluted sulphuric acid [J]. Hydrometallurgy, 2005, 77(1): 41-50

[9] HilberT., MarrR., SiebenhoferM., ZapfelW.. Solid/liquid extraction of zinc from EAF-dust [J]. Sep Sci Technol, 2001, 36(12): 1323-1333

[10] LeclercN., MeuxE., LecuireJ. M.. Hydrometallurgical extraction of zinc from zinc ferrites [J]. Hydrometallurgy, 2003, 70(2): 175-183

[11] DutraA. J. B., PaivaP. R. P., TavaresL. M.. Alkaline leaching of zinc from electric arc furnace steel dust [J]. Minerals Engineering, 2006, 19(2): 478-485

[12] LindblomB., SamuelssonC., SandstromA., YeG.. Fine-particle characterization-An important recycling tool [J]. JOM, 2002, 54(12): 35-38

[13] YoucaiZ., StanforthR.. Integrated hydrometallurgical process for production of zinc from electric arc furnace dust in alkaline medium [J]. J Hazard Mater B, 2000, 80(1/3): 223-240

[14] MikhailS. A., TurcotteA. M., AotaJ.. Thermoanalytical study of EAF dust and its vitrification product [J]. Themochimica Acta, 1996, 287(1): 71-79

[15] GökhanO.. Leaching and cementation of heavy metals from electric arc furnace dust in alkaline medium [J]. Hydrometallurgy, 2005, 78(2): 236-245

[16] JarupisitthornC., PimtongT., LothongkumG.. Investigation of kinetics of zinc leaching from electric arc furnace dust by sodium hydroxide [J]. Mater Chem Phys, 2002, 77(2): 531-535