Super-hot acid leach residue is generated during zinc production in the roasting–leaching–electrowinning route, where both primary and secondary resources are used as feed material. This residue may contain valuable metals, such as lead, zinc, and iron, as well as precious metals, such as gold and silver. Four materials, namely super-hot acid leach residue, a residue formed when super-hot acid leach residue is selectively leached for lead with triethylenetetramine, as well as flotation concentrate, and flotation tailings formed in a selective silver flotation process with super-hot acid leach residue as the feed material were characterized to obtain a deeper understanding of possible further metal extraction. These four materials were characterized for chemical composition, mineralogy, and mineral distribution via chemical analyses, X-ray diffraction, and energy-dispersive scanning electron microscopy, respectively. The scanning electron microscope images showed that the materials have large variations in particle size distribution and composition. The results showed that the main lead phase in super-hot acid leach residue is lead sulfate, whereas it is mostly converted to lead sulfide during the selective lead leaching of the super-hot acid leach residue. The remaining lead sulfate is found in a solid solution with barium sulfate. Extracting lead from super-hot acid leach residue via triethylenetetramine leaching resulted in increased concentrations of gold and silver by 41% and 42%, respectively. The identified silver phases in super-hot acid leach residue may correspond to silver sulfide, silver chloride, and elementary silver, where silver sulfide was the most commonly occurring silver phase. After leaching this selectively for lead with triethylenetetramine, similar silver phases were identified, but silver sulfide and silver chloride occurred to a similar extent. Additionally, silver copper sulfide was detected. The presence of different silver phases might pose a challenge to reaching high silver recovery during leaching as the optimum leaching conditions differ somewhat. Furthermore, elemental sulfur, with a tendency to coat gold and silver particle surfaces, which is indicated to be present in all materials except the silver flotation tailings, may hinder metal extraction.

Utilizing iron silicate copper slag as supplementary cementitious material (SCM) is a means to improve resource efficiency and lower the carbon dioxide emissions from cement production. Despite multiple studies on the performance of these slags in SCM applications, the variations in cooling procedure, grinding, and methods for evaluating reactivity limit the ability to assess the influence of chemical composition on reactivity from the literature data. In this study, a methodology was developed to synthesize iron silicate slags, which were then evaluated for their inherent reactivity using the R-3 calorimeter-based experiments. The results demonstrated that laboratory-scale granulation produced the same reactivity as industrially granulated slag. Furthermore, a synthesized triplicate sample showed high repeatability. Based on these two aspects, this method can be used to systematically study the influence of chemical composition on the inherent reactivity of iron silicate slags while producing results that are directly translatable to industrial slags.

The metallurgical and cement industries contribute significantly to anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions. Utilizing oxidic by-products from the metallurgical industry as supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) can improve resource efficiency and reduce emissions from cement production. Iron silicate copper slags have been studied as SCMs, but mainly in systems where Portland cement is used as an activator. There is limited research on the inherent reactivity of the slag under changing processing conditions. The present study offers insight into the effect of granulation temperature and grinding on the inherent reactivity of an industrially produced iron silicate copper slag. The results showed that granulation temperature had an insignificant effect on reactivity, while grinding generated substantial improvements. The latter effect was concluded to stem from the increased specific surface area, increased number of sites for nucleation and growth of hydrates, and changes in the inherent reactivity owing to structural changes induced by the grinding.

The transition to hydrogen-based reduction processes within the iron and steelmaking industry will generate new types of slag compositions that require valorization routes. Using slags as supplementary cementitious materials (SCMs) addresses the carbon dioxide emissions of the cement industry since the SCM requires neither calcination nor clinkering. Conventionally, ironmaking slags from the blast furnace (BF) are recycled as SCMs, i.e., ground granulated BF slag (GGBS). Ideally, future slags from electric arc furnaces (EAFs) operating on hydrogen-based direct reduced iron should be valorized analogously. Since the hydrogen-based process route is not yet realized in an industrial scale, the literature lacks data to support this valorization route, and additionally, literature on scrap-based EAF slags is scarce. Therefore, the present study aimed to offer insights into the utilization of ore-based EAF slags as SCMs based on an industrial slag sample from an EAF operating on hot briquetted iron. The slag was remelted, modified, and water-granulated in laboratory scale, and its performance as an SCM was compared to water-granulated ladle slag and two commercial GGBS. The results showed promising reactivities measured using the R3 isothermal calorimeter-based testing protocol. Based on the comparison to GGBS, the study indicated that generating reactive and appropriate SCMs from EAF slags will partly be a challenge in balancing the crystallization of the MeO-type solid solution rich in magnesia and addressing the iron oxide content in the amorphous phase.

Due to increased copper production and the associated environmental consequences, copper production processes need to be improved, considering the impact of their byproducts, among others slag. This study investigated the leaching of individual constituents of iron silicate slag from a copper smelter. This was done by characterising granulated samples of its constituents – glass, matte, speiss – to determine their leaching contribution. It was observed that leaching in distilled and deionised water without pH regulation achieved various natural pH for the constituents. At natural pH, glass (Cu, Zn) and speiss (Ni, Sb) contributed to leaching. Static pH titrations showed the increased leaching of Zn, Cu, Ni, As, and Sb with decreasing pH. The results showed that, an iron silicate slag consisting of glass, matte and speiss, contributes to leaching as follows: matte – Cu and Ni, speiss – Cu, Ni, As, and Sb. Zn leaching is similar among the constituents.En raison de l’augmentation de la production de cuivre et des conséquences environnementales associées, on a besoin d’améliorer les processus de production du cuivre, tenant compte de l’impact de leurs sous-produits, parmi lesquels les scories. Cette étude a examiné la lixiviation des constituants individuels des scories de silicate de fer provenant d’une fonderie de cuivre. Ceci a été accompli en caractérisant les échantillons granulés de ses constituants –verre, matte, smaltite–pour déterminer leur contribution à la lixiviation. On a observé que la lixiviation dans de l’eau distillée et désionisée sans régulation du pH atteignait divers pH naturels pour les constituants. Au pH naturel, le verre (Cu, Zn) et la smaltite (Ni, Sb) contribuaient à la lixiviation. Les titrages de pH statique ont montré une augmentation de la lixiviation du Zn, Cu, Ni, As et Sb avec une diminution du pH. Les résultats ont montré que les scories de silicate de fer composées de verre, de matte et de smaltite contribuent à la lixiviation comme suit: matte–Cu et Ni, smaltite–Cu, Ni, As et Sb. La lixiviation du Zn est similaire parmi les constituants.

Granulated iron silicate slag, a by-product of pyrometallurgical copper extraction, has excellent properties for construction applications. Slag modification with CaO enhances the application properties regarding pozzolanic reactivity, potentially extending slag use in the future. The slags’ short-term leaching behavior has already been investigated with promising results, while the long-term leaching effects are less studied. Therefore, this study aims to determine the long-term leaching effects on CaO-modified iron silicate slags. The CaO-modifications were conducted during full-scale slag treatment operation. The slags were characterized and leached, and the remaining slags were investigated regarding the formation of secondary phases. The long-term leaching of main and trace elements was determined over 30 days using a dynamic leaching method corresponding to an extended time period. The leaching tests showed increased leaching of the main slag elements (Si, Ca). Zn and Cu showed peak leaching after four days of leaching, and the leaching of As and Sb decreased with the increasing CaO content in the samples. After dynamic leaching, secondary phases formed on the Cu-containing inclusions on the sample surfaces. Independent of the CaO content, the leaching of Cu was increased when subjected to external acidic and oxidating conditions using static pH titration at pH 5 in dilute nitric acid.

The zinc in the fayalite slag of copper smelters, in which Zn-containing raw materials are used, is mainly found to be in oxidic phases, such as glassy iron silicate. During the slag water granulation process, the molten slag is heated, whereby the granulated slag achieves varying granulation temperatures. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to characterize and assess the leaching behavior of a synthesized Fe-saturated (FeX,Zn(1−X))2SiO4 system to understand the dependance of the zinc leaching behavior on the parameters of the ZnO content (1–10 wt.%) and granulation temperature (1300 or 1400 °C). It was found that the Zn leaching increased with the increasing Zn content and granulation temperature, using both batch and static pH leaching methods. Zn leaching was further increased at pH 5 using diluted nitric acid under oxidation conditions. Among the oxides in the samples—fayalite, spinel, and glass—glass was found to contribute to Zn leaching, owing to its weathering during pH-titration.

Water-granulated CaO-modified iron-silicate slags have shown beneficial properties for cement applications. To further evaluate potential applications, the leaching properties must be understood. Therefore, this study aims to characterise and assess the metal leaching of iron-silicate slags (2.6% CaO) modified with lime (CaO, up to 20 wt.%) produced on both laboratory and industrial scales. The granulated samples showed amorphous contents for the studied CaO range. Generally, the metal content of the samples decreased with the increasing CaO content. Batch leaching tests were conducted on the slags, and the metal leaching and CaO content of the slag were strongly correlated. The leaching of Zn and Cu decreased with the increasing CaO content in the slag. Overall, the slags with 12–13% CaO exhibited minimal leaching of Zn, Cu, Ni, and Sb. These findings indicate that CaO influences the properties of the slag and can suppress metal leaching from water-granulated iron-silicate slags.

Les scories de silicate de fer granulées à l’eau et modifiées au CaO ont montré des propriétés bénéfiques pour les applications au ciment. Pour évaluer davantage les applications potentielles, on doit comprendre les propriétés de lixiviation. Par conséquent, cette étude vise à caractériser et évaluer la lixiviation des métaux des scories de silicate de fer (2.6% CaO) modifiées avec de la chaux (CaO, jusqu’à 20% en poids) produites à l’échelle du laboratoire et de l’industrie. Les échantillons granulés ont montré des teneurs amorphes pour la gamme de CaO étudiée. Généralement, la teneur en métal des échantillons diminuait avec l’augmentation de la teneur en CaO. On a effectué des essais de lixiviation par lots sur les scories, et la lixiviation des métaux et la teneur en CaO des scories étaient fortement corrélées. La lixiviation de Zn et du Cu diminuait avec l’augmentation de la teneur en CaO dans les scories. En général, les scories contenant 12 à 13% de CaO exhibaient une lixiviation minimale de Zn, Cu, Ni et Sb. Ces résultats indiquent que le CaO influence les propriétés des scories et peut supprimer la lixiviation des métaux des scories de silicate de fer, granulées à l’eau.