A Study of Behaviour of Germanium under the Conditions of Electrolytic Process for Zinc Production
1986 Volume 102 Issue 1181 Pages 423-429
Details
1986 Volume 102 Issue 1181 Pages 423-429
The behaviour of germanium was studied under the conditions similar to those of roasting, purification and electrowinning stages of electrolytic production of zinc.
Some principal results of the experiments are as follows:
(1) In the course of roasting of GeO2-ZnSmixture at 900°C in the stream of air, GeO2 reacted with ZnO to form Zn2GeO4.
(2) Coprecipitation of germanium with Fe (OH) 3 was observed to proceed most effectively at pH of about 9. Higher molar ratio of Fe3+ to Ge andlower temperature reduced the concentration of the germanium remaining in solution.
(3) Removal of germanium from ZnSO4 solution ([Zn] =150g/l) at pH 4.0 and 4.5 usingzinc powder was remarkably enhanced by the presence of Cu2+ in the solution. The favourable condition for germanium elimination was accompanied with an increase in dissolution rate of zinc powder.
(4) In electrowinning of zinc, germanium in electrolyte caused drastic increase in hydrogen evolution and redissolution of zinc deposit. This noxiouseffect was detected at such a low concentration of germanium as 0.01mg/l.
