Sustainable Mining and Metallurgy

Aiming at the problem of resource utilization of sodium sulfate in lead zinc smelting wastewater, the experiment of electrolytic preparation of acid (H₂SO₄) and alkali (NaOH) was carried out by using a self made electrolytic cell with diaphragm and two chambers. The effects of sodium sulfate concentration, current density, plate spacing and electrolysis time on the yield of acid and alkali were investigated, so as to determine the optimal electrolysis scheme. The experimental results show that the optimum experimental conditions are as follows: sodium sulfate concentration is 25%, current density is 85.0mA/cm₂, the volume of external circulating electrolyte is 70mL, the circulation rate is 50mL/min, the plate spacing is 5mm, and the electrolysis time is 3h. Under the above optimal conditions, the yields of acid and alkali can reach about 10%. While realizing environmental protection, it can also realize the recycling of high salt wastewater and improve the clean and sustainable development ability of lead zinc smelting.