Leaching of lead from zinc leach residue in acidic calcium chloride aqueous solution

A process with potentially reduced environmental impacts and occupational hazards of lead-bearing zinc plant residue was studied to achieve a higher recovery of lead via a cost-effective and environmentally friendly process. This paper describes an optimization study on the leaching of lead from zinc leach residue using acidic calcium chloride aqueous solution. Six main process conditions, i.e., the solution pH value, stirring rate, concentration of CaCl₂ aqueous solution, liquid-to-solid (L/S) ratio, leaching temperature, and leaching time, were investigated. The microstructure and components of the residue and tailing were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). On the basis of experimental results, the optimum reaction conditions were determined to be a solution pH value of 1, a stirring rate of 500 r·min^-1, a CaCl₂ aqueous solution concentration of 400 g·L^-1, a liquid-to-solid mass ratio of 7:1, a leaching temperature of 80℃, and a leaching time of 45 min. The leaching rate of lead under these conditions reached 93.79%, with an iron dissolution rate of 19.28%. Silica did not take part in the chemical reaction during the leaching process and was accumulated in the residue.