Search

Iron removal is an important step in zinc hydrometallurgy, and hematite process not only can effectively remove iron, but also is environmentally friendly and has certain economic benefits, so it has great application potential in zinc hydrometallurgy. The oxidative hydrolysis of Fe(Ⅱ) was studied by the change of ions in solution with different initial ferrous ion concentration. Meanwhile, the oxidation rates of Fe(Ⅱ) at different initial Zn(Ⅱ) concentrations were also studied. The results show that temperature has an important influence on the oxidative hydrolysis of Fe(Ⅱ). Increasing the temperature can inhibit the formation of complex and make more Fe(Ⅱ) precipitate directly in the form of hematite, which is not limited by the hydrolysis rate of Fe(Ⅲ). The oxidation reaction of Fe(Ⅱ) approximately conforms to the second order reaction rate. Zinc sulfate can promote the oxidation of Fe(Ⅱ). When the initial Zn(Ⅱ) concentration was 20, 40, 60 and 80 g/L, the oxidation kinetic constants of Fe(Ⅱ) were 2.433, 4.492, 10.106 and 14.857 L·mol−1·min−1, respectively.

Adaptive process was used to treat germanium-containing secondary zinc oxide. The leaching parameters were determined by batch experiment, and continuous experiment was conducted and the stability of the process was verified. The leaching efficiency of Zn and Ge in the batch experiments were 92.51 and 90.67%, respectively, while the leaching efficiencies of Zn and Ge in the continuous experiment were 93.53 and 88.47%, respectively. In the neutralization process, the Fe3+ concentration in the neutralized solution is within 0.025 g/L. The Fe2+in the leaching solution increased gradually, as the neutralized residue was returned to the leaching process, the Zn in leaching residue reduce and the leaching efficiency of Zn increased. The residue mainly contained zinc sulfide and lead sulfate, with some fluffy structures on the surface. The process is promising for industrial application from indicators, economy, and applicability.

The separation and recovery of copper and indium from a solution arising from the reductive leaching of a zinc leaching residue was studied. Copper was enriched into a copper precipitate produced by iron powder precipitation; indium was hydrolyzed and enriched into a gypsum indium precipitate produced by limestone adjustment of pH. Separation and recovery of both copper and indium were achieved. The results showed that precipitation of copper(II) and arsenic(III) as Cu2O and Cu3As is thermodynamically feasible by adding iron powder to the reductive leach of a zinc leaching residue. Increasing the iron powder addition and reaction temperature promoted the formation of Cu2O and Cu3As. In the process of neutralizing and precipitating indium by adjusting the pH using limestone, indium was mainly concentrated in the precipitate by hydrolytic precipitation. The pH of the neutralization endpoint plays a decisive role in this hydrolytic enrichment. The extent of indium precipitation exceeded 98%, and the indium content of the precipitate reached 3.6 kg/t. Addition of limestone balances the acid across the entire production process. The main phase in the gypsum indium precipitate was CaSO4·2H2O, the stable properties of which create favorable conditions for the recovery of indium in subsequent steps.