China Nonferrous Metallurgy

Zinc is a significant nonferrous metal, but the global zinc resource cant support the future demand for zinc. Hence, the recovery of zinc from industrial solid wastes becomes an important method to resolve the shortage of zinc. The steelmaking dust has a high content of Fe and Zn. If zinc can be effectively separated from the steelmaking dust, the recovered zinc can be a zinc resource and the remained Fe can be recycled in the metallurgical process. Most of the zinc in the steelmaking dust exists in the form of ZnO and ZnFe₂O₄ Since ZnFe₂O₄ is stable, it is difficult to separate and recover zinc from the steelmaking dust. Based on the difference in physicochemical properties of various phases and compounds, many methods of zinc recovery from the steelmaking dust have been proposed by Chinese and foreign scholars, including pyrometallurgical process, hydrometallurgical process, and a hydrometallurgical-pyrometallugical combined process. In this paper, the principles and characteristics of each method were summarized, the new techniques and research development of the combined process were highlighted and the advantages and disadvantages of these methods were discussed. Finally, the future development of resource recycling of the steelmaking dust was analyzed.