Investigation of the kinetics of sulphuric acid leaching of zinc from calamine

Abstract

This article aims at the research of kinetics of the sulphuric acid leaching of zinc from calamine (hemimorphite) of Shaimerden deposits. The ratio of zinc extraction from calamine to water-soluble zinc sulphate was determined at various leaching durations and its temperatures. The concentration of the sulfuric acid solution, the flow rate of this solution and the size of the calamine particles, selected in the course of this work for leaching zinc from this mineral with the specified solution, made it possible to establish the value of the “apparent” activation energy of the reaction of calamine with sulfuric acid, amounting to 3,075 kJ / mol.

Keywords

• zinc
• calamine
• sulphuric acid
• leaching
• activation energy