INTRODUCTIONFilter dust and slags are typical industrial wastes from metallurgical plants. Slags consist mainly of oxides of the gangue minerals, which can be made fluid at a reasonable temperature by the addition of a suitable flux ill. Slags have a low solubility for the oxide form of the metals being smelted in order to have a minimum environmental impact when disposed. The lead-zinc plant residues contain unrecovered zinc as zinc ferrite, and lead as insoluble sulfate. Therefore, waste minimization and metal recycling from these wastes have become a major concern in recent years. A process using jarosite seeds is now widely used for the recovery of zinc and other metals. However, the cost of recovering zinc from zinc oxide is lower than the recovery cost from zinc ferrite residue. The main benefit of the jarosite process is that it is an economically viable method to recover metals that might otherwise have little or no value.The lead-zinc ore deposit in Balikesir/Balya, Turkey, was mined by French companies between 1880 and 1935. The site was abandoned as its silver content decreased. Lead ore was concentrated by gravity separation and flotation processes. Lead and silver concentrates were produced by a pyrometallurgical method. Nearly 1,000,000 tons of flotation tailings and 300,000 tons of slag remain in the area, exposed to oxidation for more than 50 years. During this period, the high sulfur content of the waste products has resulted in the production of acid that has further leached the tailings, resulting in lead contamination of the disposal area.Several studies were conducted on the reflotation of tailings to reduce waste volumes and toxicity levels, but fewer studies have been concerned with the treatment of slag waste [21. The purpose of our study was to examine the slag for potential recovery of valuable recyclable metallic constituents, mainly zinc metal. The recovery tests were initially focused on characterization of the slag sample, and then on determining the solubility of metallic compounds by hydrometallurgical methods, i.e., H2SO4 leaching. Experimental variables affecting the solubility were leaching time, solution concentration and pressure. The results of sulfuric acid leaching tests were compared to other processes using ammonia and sodium hydroxide.
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