An Experimental Investigation of Alkaline Zinc Electrowinning Using Magnesium Alloy as Cathode

Abstract:

This paper presents an experimental investigation of the novel alkaline zinc electrowinning process by using magnesium alloy as cathode and stainless steel as anode. The alkaline electrolyte with 40 g/L Zn2+ and 200 g/L NaOH was selected to be in accordance with the industrial practice. Effects of several electrolysis variables, i.e. current density (500, 1000, 1500 A/m2), temperature (30, 50, 70 °C) and impurities (lead and tin) on the morphology of deposited zinc were investigated. The current efficiency was always 100% and the deposited zinc always in powdery form. Specific energy was low, even at 1000 A/m2, and decreased with rising temperature, being only 2.27 kWh/kg Zn at 50 °C, which was much lower than the energy consumption of 3.3-3.4 kWh/kg Zn in the conventional acidic electrowinning.

• Periodical: Advanced Materials Research (Volumes 113-116)
• Pages: 2208-2211
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMR.113-116.2208
• Online since: June 2010
• Authors: Jia Chao Jiang, Cheng Long Zhang, You Cai Zhao
• Keywords: Alkaline Zinc Electrowinning, Cathode, Hazardous Waste, Magnesium Alloy

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