Correlation Between Mass Transfer and Operating Parameters in Zinc Electrowinning

Abstract

The effects of antimony additions, acid concentration, and current density on mass transfer and deposition morphology were examined. The mass transfer coefficients of zinc were calculated using a codeposition method with cadmium as a tracer. The experiments were carried out for vertical electrodes in a Hull cell. The results indicate that the mass transfer coefficients increase with increasing antimony additions, acid concentration, and current density. Zinc dissolution is more severe at low current density and higher antimony levels than at higher current densities and lower antimony levels. A mass transfer correlation for pure zinc electrolyte data is Mathematical expression where Sh, Re, and Sc are the Sherwood, Reynolds, and Schmidt numbers, respectively. The correlation fits very well with the experimental data. A correlation for electrolytes containing antimony was also obtained and has an exponent of 0.42. The correlations cover a wide range of operating parameters and provide a fast quantitative estimation of the change in mass transfer in zinc electrowinning. © 1991 Chapman & Hall.

Department(s)

Materials Science and Engineering

Second Department

Chemical and Biochemical Engineering

Third Department

Chemistry

International Standard Serial Number (ISSN)

0021-891X

Document Type

Article - Journal

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 1991 Springer Verlag, All rights reserved.

Publication Date

01 Jan 1991

Link to Full Text

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