Two-stage method recovery of metals from copper slag: Realize the resource utilization of all components

Abstract

The recovery of metal from copper slag is of great significance to the resource utilization of copper slag and the sustainable development of copper smelting industry. Currently, hydrometallurgy is the traditional method used to recover mineral metals. However, as copper slag is a silicate mineral, the traditional acid-leaching process of metal results in the leaching of Si, resulting in the formation of silica gel. The silica gel can inhibit the recovery of metal while making metal difficult to separate from Si and causing filtration problems. This study proposed a two-stage method (evaporation + water washing) to selectively recover Fe and Zn from copper slag. Under the optimal conditions (evaporation: H2SO4 = 3 M; time = 60 min; temperature = 120℃; and liquid–solid ratio = 4; water washing: liquid–solid ratio = 5), the leaching efficiency of Fe, Zn, and Si reached 99.94 %, 97.40 %, and 0.15 % respectively. The separation mechanism was determined through mineral characterization (XRD, SEM, HRTEM-EDS, SAED, AFM, etc.) and the application of DLVO theory. It was found that H+ destroyed the Fe2SiO4 structure in copper slag during the evaporation stage, which promoted the release of Fe and Zn, forming soluble sulfate crystals. Simultaneously, evaporation increased the ion concentration, reducing the repulsive force between colloids, resulting in the aggregation and precipitation of silica gel into stable amorphous silica. After washing, soluble sulfate is dissolved in water. The recovered Fe can be processed to get red iron oxide (96.32 % purity), the Zn-containing solution can be recycled for electrolytic Zn, and the residue can be used to prepare geopolymer (52.47 MPa, 28 days). The two-stage method for recovering metals from copper slag is highly efficient and provides valuable insights into resource utilization of metals and Si in silicon-containing solid wastes.