Electromagnetic Technology to Utilize Zinc-Containing Slags of Copper-Smelting Production and Dusts of Blast Furnace and Steelmaking Production

In this work, a technological scheme for the coprocessing of dissimilar zinc-containing wastes, namely, slags obtained from the autogenous smelting of copper-zinc concentrates and dusts (sludges) from gas purification during blast furnace and steelmaking production, was developed. The proposed technology was confirmed to achieve the efficient utilization of metallurgical wastes and produce the desired products (e.g., zinc sublimates, copper cast iron, and impoverished slag) for use as building materials through thermodynamic modeling, microstructural studies, and recovery process modeling. The extraction rates of copper into the alloy and zinc into sublimates by the proposed technology reached 90% and 95%, respectively. The significance of the oxide-sulfide melt as an ion-exchange medium providing high mass transfer rates and the necessary indicators for metal extraction was revealed in this study.