Cost-effective zinc powder utilization via weak-acid activation: Industrial-scale optimization for enhanced efficiency in hydrometallurgical zinc purification

IF 3.2 4区化学 Q2 CHEMISTRY, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

Journal of the Indian Chemical Society Pub Date : 2025-07-22 DOI:10.1016/j.jics.2025.101974

Wen Li, Chen Yang, Chunlong Yang, Jigao He, Xinzhi Zhang, Xuegui Yang, Chunping He, Runchun He, Yuan Gao

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Abstract

Zinc hydrometallurgical purification faces critical challenges in balancing zinc powder utilization efficiency with operational safety due to surface passivation and hazardous byproduct generation. A weak-acid activation strategy optimizes industrial-scale purification processes by selectively dissolving zinc oxide (ZnO) passivation layers while suppressing excessive zinc corrosion. By precisely regulating pH (3.8–4.2) through controlled electrolytic spent acid addition during secondary cadmium removal, the process achieves a 55.36 % reduction in ZnO surface content. Dynamic pH adjustment via a Distributed Control System (DCS) stabilizes arsenic hydride (AsH₃) concentrations below detection limits (<0.02 ppm) and reduces zinc powder consumption to 42.2 kg/t-Zn, marking a 23.96 % improvement over conventional methods. The process achieves exceptional impurity removal efficiencies of 99.96 % for Cd and 85.02 % for Co, effectively purifying zinc sulfate solutions to facilitate subsequent zinc electrolysis. Industrial validation over 780 days confirms enhanced operational stability, with zinc utilization reaching 94.93 %. The strategy eliminates toxic gas risks, minimizes slag generation, and establishes an economically viable paradigm for sustainable zinc production.

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通过弱酸活化经济有效地利用锌粉：工业规模优化，以提高湿法锌净化效率

由于表面钝化和有害副产品的产生，锌湿法冶金净化在平衡锌粉利用效率和操作安全性方面面临着严峻的挑战。弱酸活化策略通过选择性溶解氧化锌（ZnO）钝化层来优化工业规模的净化过程，同时抑制过量的锌腐蚀。在二次镉去除过程中，通过控制电解废酸的加入，精确调节pH值（3.8 ~ 4.2），使ZnO表面含量降低55.36%。通过分布式控制系统（DCS）进行的动态pH调节将氢化砷（AsH3）浓度稳定在检测限（<0.02 ppm）以下，并将锌粉消耗量降至42.2 kg/t-Zn，比传统方法提高23.96%。该工艺对Cd和Co的去除率分别达到99.96%和85.02%，有效地净化了硫酸锌溶液，为后续的锌电解提供了便利。超过780天的工业验证证实了操作稳定性的提高，锌利用率达到94.93%。该策略消除了有毒气体风险，最大限度地减少了渣的产生，并为可持续的锌生产建立了经济上可行的范例。

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来源期刊

Journal of the Indian Chemical Society 化学-化学综合

CiteScore

3.50

自引率

7.70%

发文量

492

审稿时长

3-8 weeks

期刊介绍： The Journal of the Indian Chemical Society publishes original, fundamental, theorical, experimental research work of highest quality in all areas of chemistry, biochemistry, medicinal chemistry, electrochemistry, agrochemistry, chemical engineering and technology, food chemistry, environmental chemistry, etc.