Recovery of Germanium from Sulphate Solutions Containing Indium and Tin Using Cementation with Zinc Powder

Michał Drzazga,Adrian Radoń,Grzegorz Benke,Patrycja Kowalik,Katarzyna Leszczyńska-Sejda,Sylwia Kozłowicz,Magdalena Knapik,Mateusz Ciszewski,Karolina Goc

doi:10.3390/min10040358

Abstract

Cementation of germanium from sulphate solution obtained after the leaching of GeIn dross using zinc dust was investigated. The composition of the examined solution was 5.15 Ge, 1.52 In, and 5.81 g/dm3 Zn. In order to resemble the solution before detinning, Sn concentration between 2–10 g/dm3 was also investigated. It was found that >99% of germanium may be precipitated from the solution. In order to achieve high selectivity, a detinned solution should be used because the precipitation yields of germanium and tin from the solution containing Sn were similar. For cementation with Zn powder at 75 °C for 2 h with a final pH of 2.0, over 99% of the germanium was removed from the solution, while the indium precipitation yield was 12%. The obtained cementate contained 50% Ge, mainly in elementary form.

Highlights

Germanium is a rare metalloid which is important to several sectors of the global industry.It is applied in optical fibers, used for high-speed telecommunication, infrared optics for military applications, solar cells, polymerization catalysts for the production of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), in plastic bottles and synthetic textiles, high brightness light emitting diodes (LEDs), transistors for high speed wireless telecommunication, γ-ray detectors, and phosphors [1]
Germanium does not occur in nature in the form of economically-mineable ores, but is recovered as a by-product
The amount zinc powderitused than precipitation germanium, tin, and indiumsolid

Summary

Introduction

Germanium is a rare metalloid which is important to several sectors of the global industry. It is applied in optical fibers, used for high-speed telecommunication, infrared optics for military applications, solar cells (mainly in artificial satellites), polymerization catalysts for the production of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), in plastic bottles and synthetic textiles, high brightness light emitting diodes (LEDs), transistors for high speed wireless telecommunication, γ-ray detectors, and phosphors [1]. Over 100 tons of refined germanium is produced each year, and over 60% of the world’s production comes from China [2]. Germanium does not occur in nature in the form of economically-mineable ores, but is recovered as a by-product. It is estimated that no more than 3% of Ge contained in zinc concentrates is recovered worldwide [2,10]

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