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Ausmelt Technology For Lead and Zinc Processing

Conference Paper · February 2008

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Ausmelt Technology For Lead and Zinc Processing Lead and Zinc 2008

AUSMELT TECHNOLOGY FOR LEAD AND ZINC

PROCESSING

Stephen Hughes, Markus A. Reuter, Ross Baxter & Alan Kaye

Ausmelt Limited
12 Kitchen Rd, Dandenong
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia 3175

ABSTRACT

Ausmelt Top Submerged Lancing (TSL) Technology has gained widespread

commercial acceptance in the lead and zinc industries, as an efficient and highly flexible
pyrometallurgical reactor with accompanying excellent environmental performance. For
the processing of lead and zinc bearing feed materials twenty one (21) Ausmelt furnaces
are now in operation, under design or under construction.

With recent increases in the value of both lead and zinc and an ever increasing focus on
the sustainable use of resources, interest in the processing of secondary feed material
sources as well as metal containing residues has substantially increased. Ausmelt
Technology has proven to be well suited to the economic recovery of values from such
sources. This has for example culminated in Ausmelt’s commitment to the Whyalla
Zinc project as the owner/operator of a facility for the treatment of zinc bearing
secondary feeds.

This paper describes Ausmelt’s recent developments in the fields of lead and zinc
processing, as well as further investigations into new processing areas, including the
direct smelting of zinc concentrates. Ausmelt’s TSL Technology can now be regarded
as Best Available Technology (BAT) for metal production.

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Ausmelt Technology For Lead and Zinc Processing Lead and Zinc 2008

1 INTRODUCTION

The lead smelting industry has been progressively moving to adopt modern process
technologies to improve economic performance and to meet tightening environmental &
workplace hygiene standards, and continually meeting expectations of regulatory
authorities and local communities. As experienced in other non ferrous metal industries,
the drive to improve economic performance has resulted in consolidation within the
industry, with many smaller producers forced to close down in recent years, and this has
led to the trend of increasing scale of production from the remaining operating
plants [1].

Recent improvements in base metal prices have led to an acceleration of this process, in
conjunction with the increasing demand for lead resulting in a number of plant
expansion and new plant projects. The lead industry is also experiencing a changing
feed supply pattern that has increased the need for plants to be capable of processing
secondary lead materials. To meet these needs, producers are looking to flexible
technologies that can process a range of lead feeds with minimal environmental and
workplace impact, with low capital and operating costs.

Competition in the market place to secure concentrates is very tight, especially as the
lead and zinc mine output has not been able to match the growth in demand (Figure 1).
Consequently expenditure on research and development into other lead and zinc bearing
feed sources is increasingly warranted.

14
Zinc and Lead Production (Million Tonnes/a)

12

10

8 World Zinc Demand

World Zinc Mining Output
World Lead Demand
6 World Lead Mining output

0
1990 1995 2000 2005 2010
Year

Figure 1: Zinc and Lead demand vs. mining output [2, 3, 4]

The deficit is met by the constant supply of recycled scrap. In today’s lead market,
approximately 60% of global feeds are scrap materials, a figure which is expected to
increase with increased global consumption (Figure 1). Due to the increasing awareness
of lead’s toxicity and it’s impact on human health and the environment, lead has been
superseded by other less harmful components such at titanium dioxide as a pigment in
paints. However there has been considerable growth in the application of lead-acid
batteries, due to the increase in global vehicle fleets and of all recycled lead scrap

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Ausmelt Technology For Lead and Zinc Processing Lead and Zinc 2008

materials over 85% is now used for the production of lead acid batteries [5]. The ideal
life cycle for lead is depicted by Figure 2, also showing the life times of other scrap
sources.

Figure 2: The ideal end-of-life cycle of lead [2]

Zinc’s share in the Western World’s non-ferrous metals production grew from 10 to
12% in the past 20 years [5], especially due to its use for galvanizing of steel as
corrosion protection. The longer life of galvanized products (such as in automobiles)
however retards its recycling rate hence explains why recycling makes up only a
relatively small proportion of the total feed [6].

Figure 3: Zinc end of life cycle [6]

This “Cradle to the Grave” (Figure 3) approach by many recyclers worldwide continues
to fill the gap between demand and supply and in doing so reduces the environmental
impacts on landfills as well as CO2 emissions.

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Ausmelt Technology For Lead and Zinc Processing Lead and Zinc 2008

2 AUSMELT’S TSL TECHNOLOGY: BAT FOR LEAD PRODUCTION &

TREATMENT OF ZINC CONTAINING MATERIALS

Ausmelt’s TSL Technology is the BAT in the non-ferrous metal production and has
found wide application for the processing of primary feeds, wastes and by-products
from other industries. In recent times Ausmelt Technology has been at the forefront in
the modernisation of the lead industry due to the combination of great flexibility with
respect to feed materials that can be treated, low capital and operating costs and
impressive environmental performance [1]. Complex residue streams as well as
complex end-of-life consumer products can be readily treated using Ausmelt
Technology due to its versatile operation. Ausmelt Technology has the capability to
accept a variety of feeds, from concentrates, recycled materials through to residues,
whilst still meeting stringent environmental standards.

The relative simplicity of Ausmelt Technology makes it easy to integrate into existing
flow sheets and hence provides an effective solution for operators to continue to operate
efficiently in an ever increasing competitive global market. At its core is Ausmelt’s top
submerged lance system that is used to inject fuel/air/oxygen into a molten slag bath.
Solid feed materials are added via a feedport in the furnace roof. By the accurate control
of the oxygen partial pressure, conditions can be created to effectively separate volatile
species to fume, valuable non-volatile species to metal, and low value non-volatiles to a
stable, environmentally friendly slag, for discard or building material. Also the recovery
of heat from the post-combustion reactions is possible for the generation of electricity.

Ausmelt Technology provides an excellent solution to treat lead and zinc bearing feed
materials and can be truly regarded as the closer of the material streams as depicted in
Figures 2 & 3. It is viewed by the metals industry as a cost effective technology and is
in commercial use world wide for the range of base and precious metals [7]. With over
20 Ausmelt furnaces in operation, under construction or under design for the processing
of lead and zinc bearing feed materials, Ausmelt Technology has been proven in
commercial applications. The various applications utilizing Ausmelt lead and zinc
technology are summarized in Table 1.

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Ausmelt Technology For Lead and Zinc Processing Lead and Zinc 2008

Table 1: Ausmelt Commercial Lead and Zinc Plants

Annual
Starting
Client Location Feed Type Throughput Product Fuel
Year
(t/y)
Votorantim Pb Conc. + Pb
Brazil 2009 TBA TBA
Metais Secondaries Bullion
Pb
Undisclosed FSU 2009 Pb Conc. TBA TBA
Bullion
Pb
Young Poong 2008 (F1) Pb Tailings 120,000 Coal
Sukpo, Fume
Corp.
South Korea Pb/Zn
(2 furnaces) 2008 (F2) F1 Slag (liquid) 100,000 Coal
Fume
Yunnan Tin Gejiu City, Pb
2008 Pb Conc. 190,000 Coal
Corporation China Bullion
Zn Leach Zn
2008 (F1) 120,000 Coal
Korea Zinc Onsan, Residue Fume
(2 furnaces) South Korea Zn
2008 (F2) F1 Slag (liquid) 100,000 Coal
Fume
Whyalla, Zn Leach Zn
Ausmelt 2007 55,000 Coal
Australia Residue Fume
Zn Leach Zn
Young Poong 2006 (F1) 100,000 Coal
Sukpo, Residue Fume
Corp.
South Korea
(2 furnaces) Zn
2006 (F2) F1 Slag (liquid) 100,000 Coal
Fume
Hindustan Zinc Chanderiya, Pb Light
2005 Pb Conc. 85,000
Limited India Bullion Fuel Oil
Pb
2003 (F1) Pb Tailings 100,000 Coal
Korea Zinc Onsan, Fume
(2 furnaces) South Korea Pb/Zn
2003 (F2) F1 Slag (liquid) 80,000 Coal
Fume
Onsan, Pb
Korea Zinc 2000 Pb Secondaries 100,000 Coal
South Korea Bullion
Tsumeb, Low Grade Pb Pb Heavy
Gold Fields* 1997 120,000
Namibia Conc. Bullion Fuel Oil
Nordenham, Battery Paste/ Pb Natural
Metaleurop 1996 200,000
Germany Pb Conc. Bullion Gas
Zinc Leach Zn/Pb
1995 (F1) 120,000 Coal
Korea Zinc Onsan, Residue fume
(2 furnaces) South Korea Zn
1995 (F2) F1 slag (liquid) 100,000 Coal
Fume
Zn Heavy
1993 (F1) ISF Slag (liquid) 80,000
Mitsui Hachinohe, Fume Fuel Oil
(2 furnaces) Japan Zn Heavy
2002 (F2) F1 Slag (liquid) 80,000
Fume FuelOil
QSL Furnace Zn/Pb
1992 (F1) 100,000 Coal
Korea Zinc Onsan, Slag (liquid) Fume
(2 furnaces) South Korea Zn
2001 (F2) F1 Slag (liquid) 100,000 Coal
Fume
* Not presently in operation

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Ausmelt Technology For Lead and Zinc Processing Lead and Zinc 2008

3 THE LEAD SMELTING PROCESS USING AUSMELT TECHNOLOGY

Ausmelt Technology offers an efficient means of processing a wide range of primary

concentrates and secondary lead materials to produce lead bullion, especially because
the partial oxygen pressure (pO2) can be readily controlled to achieve the desired
process conditions. The complete Ausmelt lead production process for primary
concentrates consists of 3 process stages viz. (i) Smelting, (ii) Reduction and (iii)
Fuming [1]. Depending on the scale of production all 3 stages can be carried out in a
single furnace as a batch operation. Alternatively, multiple, sequential furnaces can be
used to enable continuous operation. Depending upon client preference and the
availability of existing furnaces it is also possible to integrate one or more Ausmelt
processing stages to achieve the most efficient lead production flowsheet to best suit site
requirements.

The benefits and features of Ausmelt Lead Technology compared to other lead smelting
technologies lie with its submerged lance operation:

The key to this lead technology is the ability of TSL to manipulate pO2 accurately as
dictated by the metallurgy of the relevant processing stage.

Low capital cost relative to other technologies due to simple furnace construction &
peripheral system arrangement.

Low operating cost resulting from a combination of low energy consumption, high
availability, minimal maintenance requirements and low manpower needs. The
process operates with very high oxygen utilisation during the Smelting stage (>
95%) and can employ high levels of oxygen enrichment to minimise fuel
consumption and offgas volume. The process does not require the use of expensive
(and difficult to source) coke as a reductant and can utilise the lowest cost available
fuel source.

It has an excellent environmental performance due to low fugitive emissions from

the well sealed, stationary reactor and can efficiently recover SO2 in the form of
sulphuric acid or gypsum from the concentrated process offgas stream.

High degree of flexibility in terms of feed material blend that can be treated to
optimise productivity and economic performance.

Intense mixing, resulting in high reaction rates and high metal productivity per m3
of bath, hence a small plant footprint and easy to retrofit into existing operations.

High annual plant availability due its relative simple operation, which is also well
suited to remote locations. For optimum results the lead smelting process does need
to be run astutely with the support of metallurgists with a good understanding of
lead metallurgy. Ausmelt provides this training as part of it’s service package.

Currently Ausmelt has two reference plants processing predominantly secondary lead
feed and residues sources, including Korea Zinc’s plant in South Korea and
Metaleurop’s plant in Nordenham, Germany. [8 - 12]

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Ausmelt Technology For Lead and Zinc Processing Lead and Zinc 2008

A further four Ausmelt plants are in operation or under design for the processing of
primary lead feed materials, including HZL’s lead plant in Chanderiya, India. [13]

3.1 Overview of process

To achieve the best results from the overall lead process requires a sound understanding
of the intricacies of lead metallurgy, especially to move from the first stage smelting
stage to the third stage slag cleaning stage in a single vessel. A thorough understanding
of slag phase relationships, the control of pO2 as a function of the slag chemistry and
lead activity coefficients, temperature control as well as the process dynamics is
required. Figure 4 shows the slag chemistry at the given conditions, showing the
importance of the oxygen partial pressure and other components on the slag operating
window. As conditions change due to reduction of lead, therefore the process must be
adjusted accordingly to ensure optimal conditions are maintained.
D:\_Mar kusR\Files2006_2007\Ausmelt\Trips_Projects\YTCL_HZL\Olivine_04PbO_01ZnO_1200_pO2- 8.wmf
10/10/2007

SiO2 - FeO - CaO - O2 - ZnO - PbO

o -8
1200 C, p(O2) = 10 atm, mass ZnO/Z = 0.1,
mass PbO/Z = 0.4, Z=(SiO 2+FeO+CaO)
SiO2
0.9

0. 1
0.8

0.2

Slag + S(s4)

Slag + S(s4) + CaSiO (s2)

3
0.7

0.3

Slag + CaSiO (s2)

0.6

3
0.4
0.5

0.5

Slag
0.4

0.6

Slag + Spinel
0.3

0.7
0.2

0.8

Slag + Pb-liq + Spinel

0.1

0.9

?Monoxide + Pb-liq + a'Ca2SiO4 + Ca Fe O (s)

2 2 5

CaO 0.9 0.8 0. 7 0.6 0.5 0. 4 0.3 0.2 0.1

FeO
mass fractions /(SiO2+FeO+CaO)

Figure 4: Target conditions during the reduction stage of Ausmelt’s TSL lead
technology

Figure 5 provides a general outlay of the Ausmelt’s Three Stage Lead Production
Technology from concentrates. This general arrangement can be installed for complete
plant configurations, or each of the stages can be utilized individually and integrated
into existing plant configurations. An example of a complete plant using this lead
smelting technology is depicted by Figure 6.

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Ausmelt Technology For Lead and Zinc Processing Lead and Zinc 2008

Lead Secondary Lead

Concentrates materials

Lead fume
Air, Fuel &
Oxygen Reductant Coal,
Fluxes

Lead fume
SMELT recycle
Lead
Bullion

Smelt slag

Air & Fuel Reductant

Coal

Lead fume
REDUCTION recycle
Lead
Bullion

Reduction Slag
Air & Fuel Reductant
Coal

Oxide Fume
FUMING (high Zn)
Discard
Slag

Figure 5: Ausmelt’s Three Stage Lead Production Technology

The individual process stages described above can be carried out as batch or continuous
operations using Ausmelt furnaces in single (see Figure 6) or multiple vessel
configurations.

Figure 6: A three stage Ausmelt lead smelter configuration

Other standard types of furnaces can be employed for the Reduction or Fuming Stages
respectively, if these are available or preferred. For example an electric furnace can be
used for the Reduction Stage or box fumers for the fuming, although these preferably

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Ausmelt Technology For Lead and Zinc Processing Lead and Zinc 2008

operate with a liquid slag feed. Ausmelt TSL operates well with both solid and liquid
slag feed, constituting an important advantage.

3.2 Single Ausmelt Furnace

For smaller scale lead bullion production, all three unit operations can be carried out
using a single Ausmelt Furnace. The size of the furnace required and the maximum
throughput achievable is a function of the feed composition, in particular the quantity of
slag produced per tonne of bullion and the level of zinc present in the feed. As more
slag is produced and the Fuming Stage duty is increased the time available for the
Smelting Stage is decreased and hence bullion production is reduced.

3.3 Two Ausmelt Furnaces

To achieve higher throughput, the process stages can be divided between 2 Ausmelt
furnaces viz. (i) Furnace 1, continuous Smelting Stage and (ii) Furnace 2, batch
Reduction and Fuming Stages. In this configuration Furnace 1 is operated continuously
with continual removal of lead bullion through a siphon and periodic tapping of slag,
matched to the processing rate of Furnace 2. The Furnace 1 slag is transferred to
Furnace 2 where the Reduction Stage is conducted as a batch operation. Once this stage
has been completed and bullion removed, the final Fuming Stage commences as the
second batch operation in Furnace 2 (for more details on fuming see section 4).

3.4 Other Configurations

Several clients have elected to adopt Ausmelt Technology only for the continuous
Smelting Stage in order to take advantage of the high productivity and efficiency of the
Ausmelt Smelting process whilst also gaining the benefits of continuous process
operation in terms of offgas containment and energy recovery, product composition and
thermal stability. As mentioned above other types of furnace can be employed for the
Reduction and Fuming Stages; for example an electric furnace can be used for slag
reduction, a flowsheet that Ausmelt has developed in conjunction with Gintsvetmet, a
Russian engineering institute. This is analogous to the highly successful Ausmelt copper
smelting process, where an electric furnace is typically coupled with an Ausmelt
smelting vessel to achieve very high process throughputs.

4 AUSMELT TSL TECHNOLOGY APPLIED TO EAF DUST RECYCLING

Ausmelt has extensive experience in the processing of zinc leach residues and zinc
slags, which has culminated in commercial plant applications in Korea and Japan [8, 14,
15]. In recent work Ausmelt explored the direct processing of EAF dust with and
without the addition of zinc oxide ore in a TSL furnace. The specific aim of the pilot
plant study was to investigate the feasibility of smelting EAF dust and producing a
discardable slag and a zinc rich fume suitable for sale, or further processing. This
builds on past work done by Ausmelt [7, 16, 17]. Ausmelt TSL Technology has shown
through various R&D activities as well as industrial applications to be very suitable to
process for example electric arc furnace (EAF) dust, which is produced during the
production of steel from scrap in an electric arc furnace (EAF) at approximately 15-20
kg of Zn/Pb per tonne of steel product.

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Ausmelt Technology For Lead and Zinc Processing Lead and Zinc 2008

This dust is considered a toxic waste in many countries due to the leachable heavy
metals (e.g. Pb, Cr, Cd, etc.) it contains but it also has recoverable value due to the zinc
(& lead) content (15-25 weight %, in some cases above 25% weight). It is estimated that
the world-wide annual production of EAF dust is as high as 5 Million tonnes all of
which must be treated/recycled or land filled [7]. The use of Ausmelt Technology
creates from this feed in essence only benign saleable products.

4.1 Direct smelting of EAF dust

In order to investigate the direct treatment of EAF dust two process routes were
investigated:

smelting and reduction in a two stage batch process producing zinc oxide fume and
a discardable slag (1% Zn) to reproduce the results from EAF trials done previously
by Ausmelt, and

continuous smelting by producing zinc oxide fume with periodic slag tapping
producing a slag with 1% Zn.

In both experiments the effect on zinc recoveries, reductant coal requirements and
operating temperatures between the two processes was evaluated; the results are
summarized in Table 2. Previous work has indicated that the zinc in slag half life of 25
minutes is achievable for the pilot plant under the conditions selected within the zero
order rate controlling regimes for zinc reduction. For the usual halide content within the
EAF dust the slag produced had Cl<0.01% and F<0.5% whereas in the fume the Cl was
<6% and the F 0.5%, depending on the location and time of fume sampling.

Table 2: Inputs and Outputs for direct smelting of EAF dust in an Ausmelt Furnace

Input Zn Pb Fe Cu S SiO2 CaO MgO MnO Al2O3

EAF Dust (1) 21.6 1.3 29.5 0.1 0.5 5.6 9.3 2.7 2.2 0.7
EAF Dust (2) 25.8 1.9 24.2 0.2 0.5 4 7 2.5 2.2 1
Output
Fume (1) 56.7 5.3 1 2.4 0.1
Fume (2) 59.7 5.9 0.3 1.5 0.1
Slag (1) 0.1 0.05
Slag (2) 0.7 0.1
(1) Trial 1 and (2) Trial 2

4.2 Direct smelting of EAF dust with an zinc oxide ore

During this pilot scale examination, a trial comprising of two cycles was conducted to
evaluate the use of Ausmelt Technology for processing EAF dust/Zinc Oxide Ore to
produce a zinc rich fume product and discard slag. The main aims of the pilot trial work
were:

To use Ausmelt technology to treat the Zinc Oxide Ore / EAF dust blend and
confirm technical viability of the zinc fuming operation.

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Ausmelt Technology For Lead and Zinc Processing Lead and Zinc 2008

To produce a quantity of fume for subsequent leach test work and product
assessment.

The process was operated in two stages with changing slag conditions for a typical
campaign presented by Figure 7:

A Smelting Stage in which the blend of feeds were to be smelted at about 1300°C
under sufficiently reducing conditions to fume zinc and maintain about 3-4wt% Zn
in slag. Oxygen enrichment at levels of up to 40 vol% O2 was employed for this
stage.

A Reduction Stage in which the feed blend was stopped and reductant coal addition
was maintained for 30-45 minutes to reduce the zinc in slag to less than 1 wt% Zn
with an ideal target of 0.5wt% zinc in slag. During this stage slag temperatures were
to be maintained at 1350°C. Discard slag was tapped at the conclusion of this stage
retaining sufficient bath for a further cycle.

D:\_Mar kusR\Files2006_2007\Ausmelt\Trips_Projects\YTCL_HZL\ZincFuming.wmf
27/10/2007

SiO2 - FeO - ZnO - O2 - CaO

o -10
1325 C, p(O2) = 10 atm,
mass CaO/(SiO2+FeO+ZnO) = 0.1
SiO2
Slag + S(s4) + CaSiO3 (s2)
0.9

0.1
0.8

0 .2
0.7

0 .3

Slag + S(s4)
0.6

0.4
0.5

0.5

Slag
0.4

0.6

Slag + Willem ite

0.3

0.7

Slag + Willemite + Zincite

0.2

0.8

Slag + Zincite

Slag + Melilite + Zincite

0.1

0.9

?Monoxide + Slag + Zincite

?Monoxide + Slag

ZnO 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1
FeO
mass fractions /(SiO2+FeO+ZnO)

Figure 7: Typical conditions during the reduction step showing change of ZnO in slag

Two cycles were performed to establish repeatable process control and to produce the
required quantity of fume of which the summary of operation are (temperature ranges
are provided with averages around 1300oC for Cycle 1 and 1350oC for Cycle 2):

Cycle 1: (i) Smelting Stage: The operating temperature varied from 1270°C-1364°C.
The feed rate was between 200 kg/h and 250 kg/h while the oxygen enrichment used
was 40%. (ii) Reduction Stage: The operating temperature ranged between 1266°C-
1327°C.

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Ausmelt Technology For Lead and Zinc Processing Lead and Zinc 2008

Cycle 2: (i) Smelting Stage: The temperatures ranged between 1288°C-1357°C.

Oxygen enrichment was at 40%. (ii) Reduction Stage: The operating temperature
ranged from 1294°C-1371°C.

The various inputs and produced outputs for this pilot test are summarized in Table 3. It
is clear from the data that the ore also serves as a fluxing agent in order to produce the
required metallurgical conditions for optimal furnace operation and fuming [16, 18-20].

Table 3: Analyses of inputs and outputs (weight %)

INPUT Zn Pb Fe SiO2 CaO Al2O3

Start Bath Slag 0.7 0.1 36.5 19.6 10.3 3.1
Zinc Oxide Ore 38.9 4.6 3.4 22.5 6.1 0.4
EAF Dust 23.0 1.8 27.0 3.2 8.4 0.8
Reductant Coal 0.7 5.9 0.3 3.5
OUTPUT
Slag 0.5 0.05 27.0 30.2 8.7 6.8
Fume 71.2 7.2 0.1 0.8 0.1 0.1

Figure 8 summarizes the fuming kinetics of the two cycles of the pilot scale test also
summarizing the two cycles of this pilot scale work.

Cycle 1 Cycle 2
10.0 0.35
Smelting Reduction Smelting Reduction
9.0
0.30
8.0

7.0 0.25
Zn in Slag (Weight %)

Pb in slag (Weight %)

6.0
0.20
Zn
5.0
Pb
0.15
4.0

3.0 0.10
2.0
0.05
1.0

0.0 0.00
8:00 9:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 16:00
Time (hours)

Figure 8: Change of weight% Zn and %Pb with time for the two cycles

During the trial work performed on the Zinc Silicate ore/EAF dust blend, Ausmelt
successfully demonstrated the treatment of the blended feed and the production of a zinc
fume product of consistent high quality with Zn values in the range 68.8-72.8%. At the

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Ausmelt Technology For Lead and Zinc Processing Lead and Zinc 2008

same time a slag with a 0.5 wt% Zn content and negligible Pb content could be
produced.

4.3 Hydrometallurgical treatment of TSL flue dusts created from EAF dusts

Korea Zinc have commercially pioneered the use of Ausmelt TSL technology to
innovatively close material cycles within their production facilities [21, 22], industrially
realizing solutions that have been reported on by Ausmelt in the past [16, 17]. Korea
Zinc recently discussed the treatment of EAF dust in their TSL reactors [17]; similar to
what had been proposed by Ausmelt [16]. It was reported to be an ideal low-cost
solution to the treatment of EAF dust. Figure 9 depicts the process characterized by the
washing of feed and product fumes to create leachates that have to be treated. Central to
the process option is TSL technology producing benign slag for construction and other
useful purposes. This is the most elegant way to sluice out iron units from system
eliminating the more cumbersome production of iron precipitates from the
hydrometallurgical route.

Coal / Air

Water Water Na2CO3

TSL
EAF Dust Water Washing Technology Alkali Washing Cake to Zn
(2 stage) Plant

Filtrate Filtrate
(to waste water treatment) (to waste water treatment)
Benign slag

Figure 9: Korea Zinc treatment of EAF dust [16, 21]

This process route is required since it is directly linked to conventional sulphate

electrolysis. Process options such EZINEX and ZINCEX [7] are less sensitive to halides
due to their nature and hence do not require the washing steps shown in Figure 9.
Ausmelt has been investigating these as more efficient than that proposed by Korea
Zinc [7]. Waste heat boilers can provide steam for the hydrometallurgical plant as well
as feed to electricity generation, which makes the solution depicted by Figure 9 even
more economically attractive and energy efficient.

4.4 Ausmelt’s Whyalla plant

Ausmelt has recently begun modifications on its existing demonstration plant at

Whyalla in Australia, which was originally designed for the AusIron® process [7], is
now being converted to process residues and EAF dusts, to produce zinc fume. The
Whyalla furnace is an elliptical bi-lance system and is expected to start up around the
end of December 2007.

4.5 Direct Zinc Concentrate smelting

Ausmelt has been investigating the economics as well as the use of Ausmelt technology
in the direct smelting of zinc sulphides. In these studies a comparison has been made

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Ausmelt Technology For Lead and Zinc Processing Lead and Zinc 2008

with the classical RLE (Roasting-Leaching-Electrowinning) route. Recently Ausmelt

has carried out numerous pilot plant trials involving the direct smelting of zinc sulphide
concentrates in our pilot plant for ongoing research and development.

5 CONCLUDING REMARKS

This paper discusses various smelting technologies pioneered by Ausmelt over many
years.

Continuing developments by Ausmelt not only in relation to the furnace technology but
also in new process applications as well as promoting synergies between technologies is
enhancing Ausmelt’s reputation as innovator.

Not only is Ausmelt establishing its own residue treatment plant in Whyalla but various
new process control and furnace innovations will permit Ausmelt to remain at the
forefront of lead and zinc processing.

6 REFERENCES

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