Hydrometallurgical processing of foundry waste

Abstract

Increasing demand for base metals and declining primary resources have highlighted the significance of recycling. For Al, this study investigated Al recovery by applying alkaline leaching and annealing and Zn recovery were studied by applying acid leaching, peroxidation and followed by electrolysis. NaOH leaching resulted in better outcome than KOH leaching, while increase in temperature improved Al recovery with a maximum efficiency of 39.60 %. Most Al-bearing samples were eligible for further refining. Peroxidation increased Zn concentration in solution, and higher H2SO4 improved Zn electrolysis performance. Further studies suggested for optimizing unaddressed leaching conditions and assessing financial feasibility of these recycling methods.