Recycling lead from a zinc plant residue (ZPR) using brine leaching and cementation with aluminum powder

This research investigated the treatment process of an Iranian zinc plant residue for recycling lead utilizing brine leaching and cementation with aluminum powder. Response surface modeling was employed for this purpose and accordingly, two quadratic mathematical models with R² of 0.9058 and 0.9463 were identified for relationship between process parameters. The ANOVA and 3D response surface graphs exhibited that the leaching and cementation processes were significantly depended on the interactive effects between influential parameters. The interaction effects of liquid/solid ratio with NaCl concentration, temperature and stirring rate, and quadratic effect of NaCl concentration had the largest impact on the recovery. It was also distinguished that the most impressive parameters on the cementation performance were the linear effect of Al:Pb molar ratio, cementation time and temperature, and the quadratic impact of agitation rate. Additionally, numerical optimization was carried out by desirability function approach and the maximum leaching recovery of lead (77.14%) was achieved at 400 g/L NaCl concentration, 10 mL/g liquid/solid ratio, 300 rpm stirring speed, 50 °C temperature, and 60-min leaching time. Also, the highest cementation efficiency (74.97%) was determined after 75 min at 1.5 Al:Pb molar (stoichiometry) ratio, ~ 420 rpm agitation rate, and 50 °C temperature. Furthermore, thermodynamic conclusions implied an endothermic nature and good affinity of lead toward each two processes.