JSC “Chelyabinsk Zinc Plant”, Chelyabinsk, Russia:

A. V. Zatonskiy, Technical Director
K. V. Bovykin, Chief Technologist
R. R. Asadulin, Head of Leaching Shop, e-mail: rra@zinc.ru
E. V. Golubeva, Leading Processing Engineer of Engineering Center

Zinc-containing raw materials, processed at Chelyabinsk Zinc Plant, has considerable content of lead. According to the Plant technology, lead is recovered in lead cake (40–45% of Pb) — solid residue from Waelz-oxide leaching. Lead is contained in cake in sulfate form. Application of PbCO₃-containing raw materials in lead production allows to decrease the flux consumption, yield of dump slags and SO₂ discharges with gases during smelting in short-drum furnaces. Carbonization of lead can be carried out by processing of sulfate zinc cake by hot solution of Na₂CO₃. It is reasonable to carry out the lead cake carbonization in hydrometallurgical production conditions. For the purpose of mastering of carbonization of the whole amount of obtained lead cakes in Chelyabinsk Zinc Plant, there were carried out the laboratory and experimental-industrial testings with definition of optimal carbonization modes. Analysis of the product, obtained during testings, has shown that it contains 76% of PbCO₃ and 11% of complex hydrocarbonate of lead and sodium. For the purpose of obtaining of required quality marketable product (≥40% of Pb, ≤9% of Zn, ≤2% of Na, ≤4% of S), there are required the following measures: maximal extraction of Zn in solution on the stages of Waelz-oxide leaching; preliminary washing of sulfate cake from acid and water-soluble sulfates; washing of carbonized product from Na₂SO₄. On the basis of experimental results, there was developed the technological and apparatus scheme of the process.

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