Electrolytic Preparation of Lead from Lead Battery Recycling Plant Shaft Furnace Dust

Abstract

Electrochemical preparation of lead from lead-containing waste in molten alkali-carbonate is described. The dust studied forms during shaft smelting of lead battery scrap being a technogenic resource with a high lead content. An ecologically clean process is developed for electrochemical processing of technogenic lead-containing raw material in molten electrolyte consisting of 60–95% NaOH and 5–40% Na₂CO₃. A large laboratory electrolyzer is constructed and prepared and tested with a current strength of 200–600 A. The use of plant shaft furnace dust from lead battery treatment makes it possible to obtain molten lead at a cathode and oxygen at an anode. There is no rapid evaporation of lead metal, lead compounds, and molten alkali-carbonate with an electrolysis temperature of 490–550°C.