Effects of Operational Parameters on the Low Contaminant Jarosite Precipitation Process-an Industrial Scale Study.

Ali Asimi,Emad Abkhoshk,Saeed Chehreh Chelgani,Farhad Moosakazemi,Khodakaram Gharibi

doi:10.3390/ma13204662

Abstract

Jarosite precipitation process (JPP) is the most frequently used procedure for iron removal in the hydrometallurgical zinc extraction process. However, there is a gap in the knowledge of the relationship between operational parameters and the low contaminant JPP on the industrial scale. This study will address these issues by investigating the behavior of zinc calcine (ZC) as a neutralizing agent, exploring the source of zinc and iron through leaching experiments, and simulating the Jarosite process of the Bafgh Zinc Smelting Company (BZSC). The results showed that the zinc dissolution efficiency was 90.3% at 90 °C, and 73% of the iron present in the calcine can be solubilized. The main outcome was the iron removal of about 85% by alkaline ions present in ZC without the addition of any precipitating agent. The second target was to evaluate the effect of operational parameters on jarosite precipitation. Results revealed that increasing the temperature to 90 °C and the stirring rate to 500 RPM as well as adjusting the ZC’s pH during the jarosite precipitation remarkably improved iron removal. Considering all these factors in the plant could improve Fe precipitation to around 80% on average.

Highlights

As the second most plentiful element on planet earth, and the fourth most abundant element in the earth’s solid crust, iron is characteristically accompanying with, the crystal structure of over than 600 ores, and the concentrates of many valuable nonferrous metals such as copper, nickel, zinc, lead, aluminum, manganese, and titanium
In the hydrometallurgical industries, the hematite, goethite, and paragoethite processes are frequently used as an effective means of eliminating iron from solutions [3,4,5], the Jarosite precipitation process (JPP) is the most well-known and extensively used iron removal method that has remarkable advantages, such as easy operation, low cost, and readily filterability [6,7,8,9,10]
ZCand were supplied from the sulfuric acid plant and the roasting unit at zinc calcine (ZC) were supplied from the sulfuric acid plant and the roasting unit at Bafgh Zinc Smelting Company (BZSC), respectively

Summary

Introduction

As the second most plentiful element on planet earth (after aluminum), and the fourth most abundant element in the earth’s solid crust (after oxygen, silicon, and aluminum), iron is characteristically accompanying with, the crystal structure of over than 600 ores, and the concentrates of many valuable nonferrous metals such as copper, nickel, zinc, lead, aluminum, manganese, and titanium. Due to the presence of iron as an impurity, iron removal procedures inevitably play a significant role in the hydrometallurgical process of producing these metals [1,2]. In the hydrometallurgical industries, the hematite, goethite, and paragoethite processes are frequently used as an effective means of eliminating iron from solutions [3,4,5], the Jarosite precipitation process (JPP) is the most well-known and extensively used iron removal method that has remarkable advantages, such as easy operation, low cost, and readily filterability [6,7,8,9,10]. 2 of 13 of Australasia [10] This technology was the first iron removal technique that introduced the commercial. The initial patents filterable of JPP were published by hydrometallurgy

Methods

Results

Conclusion