HYDROMETALLURGICAL PROCESSING OF THE LEAD - ZINC DUSTS FROM COPPER SMELTING OPERATIONS

摘要

The nature of sulphidic copper concentrates and the specific technological procedures, realized on the following smelting and converting steps of their treatment, greatly affect the chemical nature and polimetallic character of dusts, collected in exhaust gas purification systems. Due to substantial lead content (～45%), they are predestinated to be smelted for lead recovery, but the high contaminants burden requires the use of a suitable preliminary hydrometallurgical treatment. The paper presents the results of lab and industrial scale hydrometallurgical experiments, which consist in lead product upgrading and zinc recovery as a marketable concentrate. The applied procedures comprise generally: leaching of the raw material containing lead and zinc, in sulphuric acid solutions, leach solutions purification (with SX technique taken into consideration), and zinc product recovery. These research activities are summarized as a conceptual technological flowsheet, which creates the chance to solve the problem of rational utilization of the solid wastes from copper smelting plants on the way, which is technically feasible, inexpensive in the terms of capital and operating cost and more friendly for environment.