Kinetics of the reduction of the zinc oxide in zinc ferrite with iron

Conference · Sun Dec 31 04:00:00 EST 1995

OSTI ID:197275

Donald, J R; Pickles, C A ^[1]

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1. Queen`s Univ., Kingston, Ontario (Canada). Dept. of Materials and Metallurgical Engineering

Electric arc furnace (EAF) dust, which can be considered as a by-product of the steel recycling process, contains significant quantities of recoverable zinc and iron, as well as hazardous elements such as cadmium, lead and chromium, which can be leached by ground water. The zinc in the EAF dust is found almost entirely in the form of either zinc oxide or zinc ferrite, the latter accounting for 20 to 50 percent of the total zinc. It is important that an efficient process be developed which renders the dust inert, while reclaiming the valuable metals to off-set processing costs. During the conventional carbothermic reduction processes, iron is formed, and this iron can participate in the reduction of the zinc oxide in zinc ferrite. In the present work, the reduction of the zinc oxide in zinc ferrite by iron according to the following reaction: ZnO{sup {sm_bullet}}Fe{sub 2}O{sub (s.s.)} + 2 Fe{sub (s)} = Zn{sub (g)} + 4 FeO{sub (s)} was studied in an argon atmosphere using a thermogravimetric technique. First, a thermodynamic analysis was performed using the F*A*C*T computational system. Then, the effects of briquette aspect ratio (l/d), temperature, zinc ferrite particle size, amount of iron added, as well as additions such as lime, sodium chloride, and calcium fluoride were investigated.

• OSTI ID: 197275
• Report Number(s): CONF-951105--; ISBN 0-87339-318-X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATION
ARC FURNACES
CADMIUM
CHROMIUM
DATA
DUSTS
INDUSTRIAL WASTES
IRON
LEAD
MATERIALS RECOVERY
METAL INDUSTRY
RECYCLING
STEELS
TECHNOLOGY ASSESSMENT
WASTE MANAGEMENT
ZINC