LEACHING OF WASTE SLAGS FROM COPPER SMELTING PROCESSES

Abstract

The experiments were carried out to examine the possibility of utilizing waste slags generated in fire smelting processes. Metallurgical slags - Fe-As Alloy, Lead Slag and Ground Pb Slag were subjected to leaching with nitric acid with varying concentrations, at 100°C for 1 h under atmospheric pressure. The possibility to recover iron, copper, lead, cadmium, cobalt and molybdenum was examined. Elements with high enough content in raw material can be successfully leached and the plateau of leaching efficiency is reached with 55 wt. % nitric acid in most cases and is recommended for this process. If iron is not targeted for leaching even as low as 30 wt. % nitric acid can be used while maintaining high leaching.