Sustainable Mining and Metallurgy

The traditional solid waste is directly sent to the process cycle, and the zinc in the lime mud is directly introduced into the blast furnace, which not only affects the operation of the furnace, but also leads to the damage of the equipment and the decrease of the comprehensive production efficiency. Therefore, it is of great significance to explore effective zinc extraction process and reduce the enrichment of zinc in blast furnace for improving the economy and environmental protection of iron and steel production. Based on the chemical reaction, kinetics and thermodynamic characteristics of zinc extraction from iron and steel metallurgical lime mud, this paper systematically analyzed the characteristics and applicability of main zinc extraction processes including rotary kiln method, rotary hearth furnace method and multistage leaching method. Although the existing traditional process has certain technical advantages, there are still some problems in practical application, such as high energy consumption, complex operation and great environmental impact. Therefore, the improvement measures of optimizing reactor design, introducing pretreatment technology and intelligent control system and multiprocess integration were put forward to improve the comprehensive efficiency. In the future, the technology of zinc extraction from metallurgical lime mud will develop in a more efficient, environmentally friendly and intelligent direction, and promote the sustainable development of the steel industry.