Hydrometallurgical Treatment of Arsenic-Containing Lead-Smelter Flue Dust

摘要

The Bureau of Mines investigated a process to make environmentally acceptable the discard of arsenic obtained from the treatment of arsenical flue dust. The process includes (1) leaching arsenic from a lead smelter copper dross flue dust, (2) fixing arsenic as an insoluble compound, and (3) recovering other metal values. Overall results of acid-leaching tests on lead-smelter flue dusts showed that H2SO4 dissolved 80 to 90 percent of the As, Zn, and Cd, and up to 86 percent of the In. Pb, Ag, and Au remain in the residue, which can be recycled to the smelter. Indium was recovered from the strong acid leach solution by solvent extraction; arsenic was fixed in a stable form by precipitation with Fe2(SO4)3 and CaO or CaCO3.