The dust of electric arc furnaces (EAF-dust) contains significant amounts of zinc in the form of various chemical compounds. Therefore, dust can be used as a raw material for zinc extraction. EAF-dust containing 20 wt.% Zn has been studied. The effect of dust roasting with Ca O and Na2CO3 additives on the degree of conversion of ZnFe2O4 to Zn O was studied experimentally. The effect of the roasting temperature of 700, 850 and 1000 °C and the roasting duration of 1, 2 and 3 hours were established. Ca O and Na2CO3 additives in dust contribute to the destruction of ZnFe2O4 due to the formation of Ca2Fe2O5 and NaFeO2. After treatment, zinc is presented in the form of acid soluble zinc oxide. The content of acid-soluble zinc increases from 25% in the initial dust to 97 – 98% in the roasting product (“cinder”) under optimal roasting conditions.

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When re-melting scrap in electric arc furnaces (EAF), dust is formed. This dust is a rich zinc-containing raw material. The composition of the EAF-dust from JSC “Pervouralsk New Pipe Plant” was investigated. Dust contains 18 wt.% of zinc, more than 1/3 of zinc is a part of the slightly soluble in acids and alkalis of zinc ferrite ZnFe2O4. The aim of the work is to study the effect of roasting temperatures of 700, 850 and 1000 °C and the effect of CaO and Na2CO3 additives on the decomposition of zinc ferrite. Thermodynamic analysis of chemical transformations in dust during roasting showed that the additions of CaO and Na2CO3 provide destruction of zinc ferrite and promote the transfer of zinc into the acid-soluble form of ZnO. The effect of the roasting temperature, the duration of roasting and the amount of calcium oxide and sodium carbonate additions on the degree of zinc transition into acid-soluble form was studied experimentally. The best results were obtained at 1000 oС. The increase in the roasting time in the interval from 1 to 3 hours promotes an increase in the concentration of acid-soluble zinc in the cinder. The combined additions of 36 wt.% of Na2CO3 and 19 wt.% of CaO above the dust mass are optimal. The proportion of acid-soluble zinc in the cinder increased to 97–99 %, as a result of roasting under optimal conditions.

Waelz-oxide is a raw material for the production of metallic zinc. Waelz-oxide contains impurities of zinc and lead chlorides and fluorides. Halides have a negative effect on the process of zinc electrolysis. Halides have a relatively low boiling point; therefore, they are removed into the gas phase by calcining Waelz-oxide at 800–850 °С. To intensify the process, calcination is sometimes carried out at elevated temperatures of 1100–1250 °С. However, an increase in temperature leads to partial melting and granulation of the calcined product. In the present work, the chemical and phase composition of the initial and calcined Waelz-oxide was studied. Thermodynamic modeling of phase and chemical transformations of Waelz-oxide components during heating has been performed. Experiments on calcination of Waelz-oxide in laboratory conditions at temperatures of 600–1250 °C were carried out. It was found that partial melting and granulation of Waelz-oxide is the result of the formation of fusible eutectics containing lead oxide. Lead oxide is formed as a result of decomposition of lead sulfate when heated above 1100 °C. A similar effect is not observed at a standard calcination temperature of 850 °C.

Under laboratory conditions, the method of mathematical planning of experiments was used to study the effect of charge fractional composition (in the range of 2 to 8 mm) and the amount of coke in the charge (in the range of 7 to 13 wt.%) on the agglomeration process characteristics of the “Mamatwan” manganese ore (South Africa). It was found that the main agglomeration parameters vary within the following limits: the initial vacuum under grate – 54...140 mm WC for the charge layer of 350 mm; the maximum temperature – 1365...1440 °С; linear burning speed – 13,4...26,2 mm/min; the charge length of stay at temperatures over 1300 °С (the width of the melting zone) – 2,4...4,8 minutes. Mathematical equations of the combined effect of charge fractional composition and the amount of coke on agglomeration temperature, linear burning speed, width of melting zone (in time), initial vacuum in reactor were calculated. It was found that a major factor in providing the optimum mode of agglomeration is not the amount of coke, but the charge piece size distribution. For example, increasing the charge piece size has an 3,5 times more effective influence on the agglomeration temperature than the amount of coke. For the dust-containing charges the moistening up to 4...6 wt.% H2O is only partially solves the problem of the aerodynamic resistance. Pre-granulation of the dust fraction is needed to improve the gas permeability of the charge.