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Zinc precipitation from ammonia leaching solutions of electric arc furnace dust by acetic acid

  • Lingqiao Guo , Qiang An ORCID logo EMAIL logo , Zhi Li , Shuman Deng , Baolong Luo , Jiali Song , Shian Deng and Haoyu Wu
Published/Copyright: March 4, 2025
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International Journal of Chemical Reactor Engineering
From the journal International Journal of Chemical Reactor Engineering Volume 23 Issue 1

Abstract

Hydrometallurgical processes are considered essential for recovering zinc resources from electric arc furnace dust (EAFD). The precipitation of zinc is crucial to the entire hydrometallurgical process, as it impacts both the quality of zinc products and the efficiency of the process. This study investigated the zinc precipitation process from ammonia–ammonium bicarbonate leached solutions using acetic acid as a precipitant. The variation in alkalinity and total ammonia during zinc recovery was studied, and the properties of the zinc-precipitating products were systematically analyzed. Zinc could be quantitatively precipitated from purified EAFD leachate using acetic acid, achieving up to 85 % zinc recovery as high-grade hydrozincite (Ζn5(CO3)2(OH)6). During the process, the alkalinity concentration decreased continuously with increasing precipitant addition, while the total ammonia concentration decreased to a certain value and then remained constant. High-grade zinc-precipitating products of Ζn5(CO3)2(OH)6 were obtained, characterized by needle-and-whisker crystal morphology. The zinc precipitate could thermally decompose to ZnO within the temperature range of 200–300 °C. These results provide valuable parameters for the industrial treatment of EAFD.

Keywords: zinc recovery; leaching liquors; electric arc furnace dust; acetic acid
Corresponding author: Qiang An, College of Environment and Ecology, Chongqing University, Chongqing, 400045, P.R. China, E-mail:

Funding source: National Natural Science Foundation of China

Award Identifier / Grant number: 51209240

Funding source: Technology Innovation and Application Demonstration of Chongqing Science and Technology Planning Project

Award Identifier / Grant number: cstc2018jscx-msybX0308

Funding source: Technology foresight and system innovation of Chongqing science and technology planning projects

Award Identifier / Grant number: cstc2021jsyj-zzysbAX0050

Acknowledgements

We sincerely thank the College of Environment and Ecology of Chongqing University, CISDI group Co., Ltd and CISDI Thermal & Environmental Engineering Co., Ltd. for their research facilities, as well as the editors and anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments.

  1. Research ethics: Not applicable.

  2. Informed consent: Informed consent was obtained from all individuals included in this study, or their legal guardians or wards.

  3. Author contributions: Lingqiao Guo: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation, Validation, writing-original draft. Qiang An: Conceptualization, Methodology, Validation, Formal analysis, Supervision. Zhi Li: Conceptualization, Methodology, Validation, Formal analysis, Supervision. Shuman Deng: Methodology, Editing, Supervision. Baolong Luo: Resources, Investigation, Formal analysis. Jiali Song: Formal analysis, Data Curation. Shian Deng: Visualization, Editing. Haoyu Wu: Visualization, Editing.

  4. Use of Large Language Models, AI and Machine Learning Tools: None declared.

  5. Conflict of interest: The authors state no conflict of interest.

  6. Research funding: This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant no.51209240), Technology Innovation and Application Demonstration of Chongqing Science and Technology Planning Project (Project no. cstc2018jscx-msybX0308) and Technology foresight and system innovation of Chongqing science and technology planning projects (Project no. cstc2021jsyj-zzysbAX0050).

  7. Data availability: The raw data can be obtained on request from the corresponding author.

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Supplementary Material

This article contains supplementary material (https://doi.org/10.1515/ijcre-2024-0140).

Received: 2024-07-13
Accepted: 2025-02-14
Published Online: 2025-03-04

© 2025 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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https://doi.org/10.1515/ijcre-2024-0140
Keywords for this article
zinc recovery; leaching liquors; electric arc furnace dust; acetic acid

Articles in the same Issue

  1. Frontmatter
  2. Articles
  3. Effect of modified steel slag on properties of rigid polyurethane foam
  4. Numerical simulation of the effects of NH3 and H2 on the combustion characteristics of laminar premixed ethylene/air flames
  5. Performance, characterization, and application of synthesized pervaporation membranes for desalination using response surface methodology
  6. Corrosion analysis of stainless steel exposed to Karanja oil biodiesel: a comparative study with commercial diesel fuel, surface morphology analysis, and long-term immersion effects in alternative fuels
  7. Numerical study of catalytic converter geometries and their impact on exhaust back pressure and energy conversion in engine exhaust systems using parametric simulation: insights into non-equilibrium thermodynamics
  8. Optimization of stirred animal cell bioreactor based on CFD-PBM
  9. Exploring the synergistic mechanisms of alcohol-based biofuel blends for a greener future: a comparative study of propanol, ethanol, and butanol blends in reducing emissions and enhancing engine performance for sustainable transportation fuels
  10. Zinc precipitation from ammonia leaching solutions of electric arc furnace dust by acetic acid
  11. Numerical simulation and performance study of three-dimensional variable angle baffle micromixer
  12. Energy saving strategies for plate reactors in mega methanol plants: a CFD study
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