Sulphidation roasting of zinc oxide (ZnO) as a model system has been studied as a first step toward enhancing the separation ability of oxidized zinc sulphide (ZnS) ores. It is confirmed that both sulphur and pyrite can be used as sulphidation reagents at elevated temperature to transform ZnO to ZnS. Addition of small amounts of carbon to the system significantly decreases formation of SO2 during the sulphidation roasting. Lack of introduction of additional species is the advantage of sulphur application and the use of commercial product is the disadvantage. Pyrite application has as advantages use of waste material as resource and application of magnetic separation to obtain non magnetic fraction that can be directly used for zinc production.
Key words: sulphidation, oxidized zinc ore
Topic: ENGINEERING SCIENCES