Production of high-grade antimony oxide from smelter slag via leaching and hydrolysis process

•The recovery of antimony and rare earth elements from a smelter slag were achieved.•Sb was dissolved with an extraction rate of 91% from the slag.•Tartaric acid played a key role on the extraction of La from the slag.•Antimony oxide was precipitated from the PLS via the hydrolysis process.•The prod...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Separation and purification technology 2025-02, Vol.354, p.129355, Article 129355
Main Authors: Ibrahim Idrees Ibrahim, Ahmedaljaali, Aboelgamel, Muhammed, Kaan Soylu, Kartal, Top, Soner, Kursunoglu, Sait, Altiner, Mahmut
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Antimony
HCl leaching
Hydrolysis
Rare earth elements
Smelter slag
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Summary:•The recovery of antimony and rare earth elements from a smelter slag were achieved.•Sb was dissolved with an extraction rate of 91% from the slag.•Tartaric acid played a key role on the extraction of La from the slag.•Antimony oxide was precipitated from the PLS via the hydrolysis process.•The product composed of 81.43% Sb, 16.23% O, and 2.34% Fe. This study aimed to investigate the recovery of antimony (Sb) from slag generated in an antimony smelting plant using leaching followed by hydrolysis processes. The leaching behaviors of rare earth elements (REEs) were also examined. The physicochemical properties of the slag were determined using various analytical techniques. The slag (4.12 % Sb) was mainly composed of quartz and minor minerals, including microline, magnetite, hedenbergite, and stibiconite. The Sb types in the slag determined by XPS were found to be in the oxide form. The concentrations of REEs (La, Y, Ce, and Nd) in the slag were 169.21 g/t. Preliminary leaching experiment results indicate that (i) HCl was selected rather than other acids due to its high extraction ability on the Sb from the slag, (ii) a sample with a d50 of  90 %. However, the extraction rate of Sb was negligible in extended times. It was determined that using tartaric acid positively affected La’s leaching mechanism, and the required leaching time for La decreased to 180 min from 20 h with the increase of tartaric acid from 1 g/L to 6 g/L. Hydrolysis tests were conducted using the Taguchi approach (L32, 2^1 4^3). The effects of the alkaline type (NH4OH and NaOH), sti
ISSN:1383-5866
DOI:10.1016/j.seppur.2024.129355