About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2027 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
Rare Metal Extraction & Processing
|
| Presentation Title |
An Integrated Strategy and Process for Recovery of Germanium from Metallurgical By-Products and Waste Streams: Germanium Leaching and Precipitation from Fumed Slag |
| Author(s) |
Caden T. Ingraham, Jerome Downey, Grant Wallace, Teagan Leitzke |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
Caden T. Ingraham |
| Abstract Scope |
Germanium is an uncommon element that is not extracted in large quantities in the U.S. despite its importance in domestic technological industries. Lead and zinc extractive operations produce metallurgical wastes that can become enriched in germanium, which makes these materials possible feedstocks for germanium extraction. The present study is focused on the leaching and precipitation of germanium from fumed slag originating from a lead smelting operation. The effect that lixiviant temperature, concentration, and composition have on germanium leaching has been investigated, and leaching efficiencies near 90% have been achieved. Possible pretreatment steps designed to minimize co-leaching of gangue have been considered. The selective precipitation of gangue minerals from leach liquor has been studied, with approximately 84% of iron, 99% of zinc, and 11% of germanium being precipitated in preliminary experiments. This study will aid in the development of an extractive process for germanium that uses metallurgical waste as feedstock. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Planned: |
| Keywords |
Hydrometallurgy, Recycling and Secondary Recovery, Extraction and Processing |