Kinetics of alkaline leaching of roasted zinc concentrate

In the leaching kinetics of roasted zinc concentrate in NaOH solution, during the early stage of the leaching process, the rate-determining step is diffusion through the zinc ferrite, while in the later stage, it is surface reaction on the zinc oxide. In the shrinking core model, diffusion through a solid layer can be the rate-determining step even in the early stage of the leaching process, not only in later stage. The solid layer changed from zinc ferrite to the porous iron oxide as leaching proceeded, and this substance then thickened progressively due to the selective dissolution of zinc ferrite.