Study on leaching behaviour of germanium and iron in zinc oxide dust from lead zinc smelting

Mechanism of Germanium Adsorption by Iron Hydroxide Colloids during the Leaching Process of Secondary Zinc Oxide

“…In previous studies, − ultrasonic treatment and reducing agents were employed to control the iron in the solution system, converting it into its divalent form. This effectively inhibited the hydrolysis of Fe 3+ ions, thereby preventing the adsorption of germanium by Fe­(OH) 3 colloids and enhancing the germanium leaching efficiency.…”

“…Based on a previous research work, − the authors have identified that the hydrolysis of Fe 3+ during leaching, resulting in the formation of Fe­(OH) 3 colloids that adsorb germanium and facilitate its retention in the residue, constitutes a significant factor limiting germanium leaching. Increasing the concentration of sulfuric acid during leaching represents an effective approach to suppress Fe 3+ hydrolysis; however, maintaining a high acidity throughout the secondary zinc oxide leaching process is not recommended.…”

Some Recent Advances on Germanium Recovery from Various Resources

“…The recovery of germanium from a zinc oxide dust is also investigate in the next reference [6]. In this dust, germanium is find to be as oxidised and germanates species, being the metal dissolution dependent on the leaching time, due to that longer operation times produced the precipitation of Fe4Ge3O12 species.…”

Some Recent Advances in Germanium Recovery from Various Resources

“…The recovery of germanium from a zinc oxide dust is also investigated in the next Ref. [9]. In this dust, germanium is found as oxidized and germanite species, being that the metal dissolution (Equations ( 1)-( 3)) is dependent on the leaching time; due to this, longer operation times produce the precipitation of Fe 4 Ge 3 O 12 species (Equation ( 4)).…”