HZL Intern Report

A
Practical Training Report

On
Study of Acid and Roaster Plant
Training Period: - 20th May, 2015 to 2nd July, 2015
Submitted by: Karan

Vaishnav
12ME001653
B.Tech VIIth sem
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Sir Padampat Singhania University
DECLARATION
I hereby declare that work entitled summer training project report, Submitted
towards
completion
of
vocational
training
after
Third
year
of
B.Tech
(MECHANICAL) at SIR PADAMPAT SINGHANIA UNIVERSITY comprises of

my original work pursued under the supervision of guides at Hindustan Zinc, Debri.
The Project embodied in this report have not been submitted to any other Institute or
University for the fulfillment of any other curriculum.
Signature of the Student:

Place: Udaipur, Rajasthan
Date: 21-july-2015
SIR PADAMPAT SINGHANIA UNIVERSITY

UDAIPUR 313601
GUIDES CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that Mr Karan Vaishnav has completed the industrial internship at
Hindustan Zinc Smelter for 45 days and reported the work as per university
guidelines.
Signature
(Name of faculty): Mr. Satish Ajmera
Supervisor
Dept. of Mechanical Engineering
SPSU, Udaipur.
PREFACE
Practical training is a way to implement theoretical knowledge Practical training is a
way to implement theoretical knowledge to practical use. To become a successful
engineer it is necessary to have a sound practical knowledge because it is the only
way by which one can acquire proficiency & skill to work successfully in different
industries. It is proven fact that bookish knowledge is not sufficient because things are
not as ideal in practical field as they should be.
Hindustan Zinc Ltd. is one of the best examples to understand the production process
& productivity in particular of Zinc.
It is a matter of great pleasure that our college authorities have
recommended a practical training of 45 days to supplement our theoretical
knowledge acquired in the college.
This report is an attempt made to study the overall production system & related action
of Zinc Smelter, Debari a unit a HZL. It is engaged in the production of high grade
Zinc metal &other byproducts viz. Cd, Sulphuric acid etc. since 1968 adopting hydro
metallurgical technology.
Karan Vaishnav
12ME001653
Mechanical Engineering
Acknowledgement
I would like to thank Naveen Kumar (Head of Department) for the encouragement
given me to help me explore my interest and learning about different aspects of
working in an Industry.
I would like to thank everyone involved with this project. This project would not have
been possible with the guidance and expertise of Mr. Nand Kumar (Head of Acid
and Roaster Plant). I would also like to thank the Human Resource Department for
their time and support while we were doing this project.
This was project which also taught me many aspects of Team work and I would also
like to thank my team members for their help without which the project would not
have been possible.
Karan Vaishnav
12ME001653
Contents
Title
Page No.
Chapter 1
Introduction
01
1.1
About the company.......01
1.2
Applications of Zinc.........04
Chapter 2
2.1
Zinc
06
About Zinc Usage.06
2.2
Zinc Mining......................................07
2.3
Zinc Smelting.......07
Chapter 3
General Process Overview
08
Chapter 4
Raw Material Handling
10
4.1
Pyro Metallurgical Process.13
4.2
Hydro Metallurgical Process...14
Chapter 5
Acid Plant
18
5.1
Plant Description...18
5.1.1
Drying and Absorption Section18
5.1.2
Convertor System.....19
5.2
Basic Operations in Plant.19
5.2.1
Drying Tower...19
5.2.2
SO2 Blower..19
5.2.3
Converter Group..20
5.2.4
Preheater..21
5.2.5
Intermediate Absorber Section21
5.2.6
Final Absorber Section22
5.3
Important Process Criteria22
5.3.1
Gas Drying23
5.3.2
Water Balance.......23
5.3.3
Absorption of SO3....24
5.3.4
Energy (Heat) Balance.24
5.3.5
O2/SO2 Ratio....25
Chapter 6
Roasting
26
6.1
Parts of Roaster Plant..........32
6.1.1
Cyclone...................32
6.1.2
Gas Cleaning Plant.........................36
6.1.3
Quench Tower........................36
6.1.4
Packed gas Cooling tower......................36
6.1.5
Wet gas precipitator.......................37
6.1.6
Material Removal......................38
Chapter 7
Leaching and Purification
38
7.1
Leaching plant...............................42
7.1.1
Neutral Leaching...........................43
7.1.2
Acid Leaching...................45
7.1.3
Neutralization...............................46
7.1.3.1
Residual Treatment Plant.............................46
7.1.3.2
Magnesium Removal...................48
7.1.3.3
Horizontal Belt Filter.......................49
7.1.4
Purification for leaching..............................49
7.1.4.1
Chapter 8
Principle..................................50
Zinc Electrolysis
52
8.1
Electrolytic cell.............52
8.2
Electrolysis Plant..........................53
Chapter 9
Melting and Casting
54
Hazards and their prevention in zinc smelting and refining process...............55

Safety...............................................................................................................56
Green Initiatives...............................................................................................57
References.......................................................................................................58
Conclusion......................................................................................................59
List of Figures
S. No.
Figure
Page No.
1.
Zinc Smelter Plant Block Diagram
05
2.
Zinc usage around the world
06
3.
General Process in plant
09
4.
Block diagram of roaster plant
12
5.
Process diagram for acid plant
20
6.
Process flow diagram of roaster plant
29
7.
Flow sheet of roasting process
30
8.
Block diagram of acid plant
34
9.
Flow diagram of 1st stage leach process
40
10.
Process flow of leaching plant
41
11.
Process diagram for Neutral Leaching
44
12.
Process diagram for acid leaching and neutralization
46
13.
Process diagram for residual treatment plant
47
Chapter -1 Introduction
1.1 About the company: Hindustan Zinc Limited is now a Vedanta group company. Hindustan zinc limited or h
z l deals in zinc lead and silver production. It is one of the world's largest integrated
producer of zinc and among the leading global lead and silver producers.
It is one of the lowest cost producers of zinc in the world and is well placed to serve
the growing demand of Asian countries
Hindustan zinc limited was incorporated from the erstwhile metal corporation of India
on 10th of January 1966 as a public sector undertaking
Till April 2002 it was a government organization but in April 2002 Sterlite
Opportunities and Ventures limited made an open offer for acquisition of shares of the
company consequent to the disinvestment by the government of India this take of 26
per cent including management control to Hzl and acquired additional 20 percent
share files from the public to the sebi regulation 1997
In august 2013 SOVL acquired additional shares to extend of 18.92 percent of the
paid up capital from the government of India in an exercise of call option clause in
shareholders agreement between the government of India and sterlite opportunities
and ventures limited
Hindustan zinc was primarily a company which dealt in mining of zinc and
manufacturing of zinc but as the time passed Hindustan zinc also ventured and selling
of copper lead silver and also Hindustan zinc produce energy from renewable sources
of energy such as wind solar etc.
Hindustan zinc limited produces a metal of over 1 million tons per annum and last
year quoted a profit of 200 thousand cores.
Key mines which supply metal ore to Hindustan zinc are situated in
Rampura Agucha
Sindesar Kurd
Zawar
Rampura
Guntur
1
Sourabh/MECH/MNIT/HZL/2015-16
The primary smelters producing zinc located in
Debari
Vizag
Chanderiya
Dhanbad
Deriba
The company owns 474 megawatt of coal based thermal captive power
plants for supporting metallurgical operations. The company also owns 274 megawatt
of wind energy plant and 36 megawatt of waste heat generation. Hindustan zinc
producers 73206 tons per annum of zinc with Major supply to Finland Sweden and
Germany.
As we know Zinc ore contains 55 cent of zinc rest 45 percent is lead silver
cadmium and Nickel Hindustan zinc has also started selling and manufacturing site
products differently. Apart from metals Hindustan zinc limited also supplies sulphuric
acid too many small scale and large fertilizer industries.
The acid capacity of the debari plant is 130000 metric ton and cadmium is
250 metric ton whereas using zinc can be produced after 365 metric ton
Zinc
Smelter
Debari
is hydrometallurgical smelter producing
high
grade Zinc metal and other by products like Cd and Sulphuric Acid since 1968.
Raw Material Suppliers: a) Zawar Mines

b) Agucha Mines
c) Rajpura Dariba Mines
Process Collaborators:1. Krebs Penorrova, France:Leaching, Purification, Electrolysis

2. Lurgi, GMBH, and Germany:Roaster and gas clearing
3. Auto Kumpu, Finland:RTP, Wartsila Plant
2
4. I.S.C., ALLOY, U.K.:Zinc dust plant, Allen Power Plant
Properties of Zinc (metallic) at 293K
1.
Density
7140Kg./m3
2.
Melting Point
693K
3.
Specific Latent Heat of Fusion
10 J/ Kg
4.
Specific heat capacity
385 J/Kg/K
5.
Linear expansivity
31/K
6.
Thermal conductivity
111 W/m/k
7.
Electric Sensitivity
5.9 ohm meter
8.
Temp. Coefficient of resistance
40/k
9.
Tensile Strength
10.
Elongation
50%
11.
Young modulus
110 Gpa
12.
Passions Ratio
150 Mpa
0.25
1.2 Applications of Zinc: Galvanizing: It is one of the best forms of protection against corrosion, used extensively
in building, construction, infrastructure, household appliances, automobiles, steel
furniture, etc.
Zinc Oxide: Most widely used zinc compound, zinc oxide is used in the vulcanization
of rubber, as well as in ceramic, paints, animals feed and pharmaceuticals, and many
other products and processes. A special grade of zinc oxide has long been used in
photocopiers.
Zinc Die Casting: Zinc is an ideal material for die casting and is extensively used in
hardware, electrical equipments, automotive and electronic components.
Rolled Zinc: Zinc sheet is used extensively in the building industry for roofing, flashing
and weathering applications. Zinc sheet is also used in graphic art to make plates and
blocks, as well as battery callots and coinage.
Alloys: Zinc is extensively used in making alloys such as brass, an alloy of copper and
zinc.
Fig 1. Zinc Smelter Plant Block Diagram
Zinc Usage
Others; 4%
Chemicals; 6%
Rolled Zinc; 6%
Brass Bronze; 17%
Galvanizing; 50%
Die Casting; 17%
Chapter 2: - Zinc
Fig. 2 Zinc Usage around the world
2.1 Usage of Zinc: Zinc or Zn is the 30th element on the periodic table. Apart from that Zinc Industry has
a business of $ 40 billion. Well that means it has a huge demand. The investment that
goes into Mining and refining of Zinc is about $18 billion. The market price of refined
Zinc is around 2000 dollars per ton; with selling price being very less the cost of
production has to be as low as possible. The rest of the $ 40 billion goes in the use of
the zinc. Zinc is an important base metal required for various applications in
Metallurgical industry, chemical industries and textile industries. The main
application of zinc is in galvanizing which uses the bulk of the produced zinc in terms
of percentage nearly 50%.Galvanization is done so as to protect Zinc from corrosion,
apart from protecting the steel from corrosion the galvanized steel has many other
advantages such as corrosion resistant, high strength, light weight and low cost. Due
to all of these properties galvanized steel finds its way into automobile industry and
sits in the heart of many infrastructure projects. Thats not where the uses of zinc
galvanized metallic objects end, it is also found in places where one needs high
hardness, self-lubricating properties and many more. Now as we know that Zinc is a
good conductor of heat and electricity, Zinc Alloys ZAMAK has its uses in
6
manufacturing of Heat handling components and Electrical components. Zinc

compounds are also used in Alkaline Batteries and Dry Batteries Zinc Oxide is used in
paints pharmaceuticals and textiles industries.
Zinc is present around us everywhere from galvanizing element on metallic sheets to
in chemistry labs of education institutes. Zinc has an atomic weight of 65.38 with
boiling point of 907 C and a melting point a fraction below 420 C. Zinc is
diamagnetic in nature. It is also a good conductor of heat and electricity.
2.2 Zinc mining

As we know metals are not available in their native form in nature. Therefore have to
be separated from their chemical counterparts. Zinc is no exception to this rule. About
80 % of zinc mines are underground, just 8 % are open pit type mines and rest are
combination of both. The concentration of Zinc varies from mine to mine a basic of
10% of Zinc has to there in the ore to call it commercially viable. In terms of
production volume, open pit mines account for as much as 15 percent of the
production whereas underground mines account for 64 percent of the production and
21 percent comes from combination of both. It is a very rare possibility that ore is
concentrated enough to be used directly by the smelters
Concentration procedure begins with first crushing and then grounding to enable
optimal separation for other present elements Typically a zinc concentrate contains
about 55 percent of zinc with some copper lead iron cadmium and silver Zinc
concentrate is usually made at the mine site to keep transportation cost as low as
possible.
2.3 Zinc Smelting

Zinc smelting is the process of converting zinc concentrate into pure zinc the most
common zinc concentrate processed is zinc sulphide (ZnS) which is obtained by
concentrating sphalerite using float flotation method. Secondary zinc material such as
a Zinc Oxide is also process to Zinc sulphide and 30 % of the sink is produced from
secondary recycled sources.
Chapter 3: - General Process Overview

The electrolytic zinc smelting process can be divided into a number of generic
sequential process steps, as presented in the general flow sheet set out below.
In Summary, the Process Sequence is:
Step 1: Receipt of feed materials (concentrates and secondary feed materials such as
zinc oxides) and storage;
Step 2: Roasting: an oxidation stage removing sulphur from the sulphide feed
materials, resulting in so-called calcine;
Step 3: Leaching transforms the zinc contained in the calcine into a solution such as
zinc sulphate, using diluted sulphuric acid;
Step 4: Purification: removing impurities that could affect the quality of the
electrolysis process (such as cadmium, copper, cobalt or nickel) from the leach
solution;
Step 5: Electrolysis or electro-winning: zinc metal extraction from the purified
solution by means of electrolysis leaving a zinc metal deposit (zinc cathodes);
Step 6: Melting and casting: melting of the zinc cathodes typically using electrical
induction furnaces and casting the molten zinc into ingots.
Additional steps can be added to the process transforming the pure zinc (typically
99.995% pure zinc known as Special High Grade (SHG)) into various types of
alloys or other marketable products.
Fig 3. General Processes In Plant

10
Chapter 4: - Raw Material Handling
Material Handling is a field which deals with getting solutions to the problems which
include the
Logistics of materials in an industry,
Material handling includes knowing the status and usage of the materials even
while its going through the processes of refining, concentration production,
packaging, distribution and usage.
Now even the possibility of tracking the waste produced out of these materials
is also being looked into.
As time is moving and the age of automation is upon us the spotlight is on developing
such techniques of Material Handling which involve use of
Mechanical equipment,
Systems and related controls used to achieve these functions.
The importance of material handling is such that industries in present day scenario
each industry has its own material handling department which keeps track of inventory
from raw material concentration to manufacturing and distribution
The equipment and services needed to efficiently implement material handling

systems may range from Simple pallet rack and shelving projects or to
complex conveyor belt arrangement and Automated Storage and Retrieval System
ASRS
11
12
Fig. 4 Block Diagram of Roaster Plant
Principal Process
The principle processes by which zinc is extracted from its ore can be categorized
under
Pyro metallurgical processes
13
Hydrometallurgical processes
4.1 Pyro metallurgical Process: -
General: Presently about 15-20% of the worlds zinc production comes from pyro
metallurgical route. The horizontal and vertical retort processes and electro-thermal
process were used in the past for zinc production but have become obsolete due to
high power consumption and low recovery. The only pyro metallurgical process of
importance presently is imperial smelting process (ISP).
Imperial Smelting Process (ISP): Currently about 9-10% of the worlds primary zinc production are through
the imperial smelting process. The process co-produces lead bullion in
addition to zinc metal using a mix of lead and zinc concentrates or complex
lead zinc concentrates as raw material.
14
The imperial smelting process is similar to blast furnace processes except that
it is operated with hot top whereby preventing reoxidation of zinc vapors. The
process consists of basic two operations namely, sintering and blast furnace
smelting of sintered lumps to extract lead and zinc simultaneously.
The imperial smelting process has the following demerits:1. Process requires mix of zinc and lead concentrates.
2. It is a labour intensive process.
3. Present demand scenario does not call for addition of lead smelting
capacity in the country.
4. Because of high temperature involved in maintainability of the plant.
5. Low plant availability.
4.2 Hydro Metallurgical process:
General: About 80% of the worlds total output is produced through

conventional hydrometallurgical route i.e. roast-leach-electrowin (RLE) route.
The three out of the 4 plants installed in the country are operating on
hydrometallurgical process route, whereas the 4th one of chittorgarh,
Rajasthan, which was commissioned in the year 1991 is based on imperial
smelting process route for simultaneous extraction of lead and zinc.
The pre-requisite condition for zinc metal extraction from sulphide
concentrate through a hydro-metallurgical route is the elimination of its
sulphur content in order to make it amendable to further treatment by leaching,
i.e. the zinc mineral into dissolved state in solution. Since zinc sulphide
mineral is not easily leached, it is first converted into zinc oxide, which is
easily leached. This is predominantly accomplished by roasting of zinc
concentrate in fluid bed roasters are fixation of SO2 bearing off gases. Thus
generated as sulphuric acid by contact process. In the recent past, an
alternative technology to conventional roasting followed by leaching, has been
developed by Sheritt-Gordon of Canada, commonly known as Pressure Leach
Process which eliminates the need of roasting step prior to leaching. The
process fixes the sulphide content of concentrate as elemental sulphur, thus
eliminates the need for a separate sulphuric acid production facility, whereas
15
the zinc metal content of the concentrate is converted into a zinc sulphate
solution, thus combining both roast-leach steps of conventional process into a
single unit operation.
16
17
18
Chapter 5: - Acid Plant

5.1 Plant Description
The sulphuric acid plant mainly consists of 2 plant sections:
The drying and absorption section
The converter section with the gas to gas heat exchangers
5.1.1 Drying and Absorption Section

The drying and absorption section mainly consists of the drying tower, the
intermediate absorber, the final absorber with individual acid pumps, the acid coolers
and the acid piping. These towers are of identical construction: each tower
consists of a brick lined steel shell with a filling of ceramic Interlocks saddles. The
19
layer of Interlocks saddles is supported by a supporting structure made of acid

resistant stoneware.
The irrigated acid is distributed uniformly over the packing by the irrigation system.
At the gas outlet of each tower gas filters are installed, for the drying tower a wiremesh filter, for the intermediate and final absorber candle type filters made of
a casing plugged with special glass wool. Most part of the acid mist and all acid
droplets will be removed from the gas by the filters.
The gas flow through the towers is counter current to the acid flow, i.e. the gas flows
from the bottom to the top of the tower. From the bottom of the tower(s) the acid
flows to the pump sump and is pumped from there by the acid pumps (via the acid
coolers) back to the irrigation system.
Acid transfer lines between the drying tower, the intermediate absorber and the final
absorber and injection lines for dilution water at the intermediate absorber and
final absorber enable to control the necessary acid concentration for each of the
towers. The acid cooler for the drying tower, intermediate and final absorption as well
as for the product acid system are plate-type acid coolers.
5.1.2 Converter system

The converter system consists of a stainless steel 4-layer converter. The arrangement
of the catalyst beds is 3 + 1, i.e. the intermediate absorption is after the 3rd layer. The
converter itself is an insulated, vertical and cylindrical vessel divided in four
sections: called layers or trays. The catalyst required for the conversion of SO2 to SO3
is arranged on these layers.
5.2 Basic Operations in Plant

5.2.1 Drying tower
Column packed with ceramic packing to facilitate contact of SO2 Bearing gases with
dilute sulphuric acid
Gases leaving the Wet Gas Precipitator are passed through drying tower to remove the
moisture by spraying sulphuric acid from top and gases enter from bottom. During the
20
removal of moisture from the gases heat is liberated which increases the temperature
of the circulating acid.
Cooling of circulating acid is done by passing the acid through PHE (Plate heat
exchanger), where filter water is used as coolant. The concentration of circulating
acid is maintained by crossing through FAT & IAT vessel acid. This is done
automatically based on sensing of concentration of circulating acid by concentration
analyser.
5.2.2 SO2 Blower

Blower to circulate the sulphur dioxide bearing gases in converter through heat
exchangers and mixer
The SO2 gas blower is arranged downstream the drying tower and transports the gas
from the roaster section via the gas cleaning plant through the sulphuric acid plant.
The blower will be provided with an electric motor.
21
Fig.-5 Process Diagram For Acid Plant
5.2.3 Converter Group

After being discharged from the SO2 blower the gas will be then routed to the shell
side of heat exchanger IV. In this heat exchanger, the main part of the SO 2 gas will be
preheated to a temperature of about 255C. A small part of the cold SO 2 gas will be
withdrawn from the lower part of the heat-exchanger IV and routed to the tube side of
heat exchanger II where it will be preheated to a temperature of about 255C while
cooling the gas between layer II and III. Both gas streams will be collected at the
entrance of heat exchanger I. Before entering the first bed of the converter the gas will
pass first through the shell side of that heat exchanger. The gas exits this heat
exchanger at a temperature of approx. 400C and enters the first catalyst bed. Bypass
22
lines will be located around heat exchangers IV and I to the inlet of the first
bed. These bypass-streams will be utilized for adjusting the gas inlet temperature to
the first and third bed of the converter. The gas leaving the first pass will be cooled in
the tube side of the heat exchanger I to approx. 425C and enters the second bed.
After passing through the second bed the gas will be routed through the tube side
of heat exchanger
II thus cooling the SO 3 gas to approx. 433C by preheating
the SO2-gas coming from the drying tower. The gas will be fed to the third pass of the
converter. After the third layer the temperature of the gas is approx. 443 C.
The gas will be cooled will be cooled in the heat exchangers III A/B to temperature of
165 C and leaving to the intermediate absorption. After the SO3 has been absorbed in
the intermediate absorber, the gas is returned to the converter via the shell side of heat
exchanger III A and III B where it will be preheated to a temperature of approx.
400C before entering the fourth catalyst bed The gas leaving the fourth bed at a
temperature of approx. 410C, passes through the tube side of heat exchanger IV
where it will preheat the cold SO2 gas before entering the first bed. After being
cooled to 271 C, the gas enters the economizer. The gas leaving the economizer at
approx. 180C will then passed to the final absorber where the remaining SO3 will be
absorbed.
5.2.4 Preheater
The preheating is needed to preheat the converter system (e.g. catalyst and heat
exchangers) from cold conditions to operating conditions and low SO 2 strength,
whereas during normal operation of the plant the heat released within the
process allows auto thermal operation of the plant. In addition lower or varying
SO2- concentrations can be compensated. The separate preheater preheats air or, in
start-up phases, SO2-gas to the required temperatures.
5.2.5 Intermediate Absorber Section

After the SO3 gas has passed through the tube side of heat exchangers III A/B this gas
will then pass through the packed tower section in counter current to the acid. After
passing through the candle filter, the gas enters the shell side of heat exchangers III
A/B leaving them preheated by the hot SO3 gas at approx. 400C. As the absorption of
SO3 generates heat, the circulating acid at a temperature of 87C will be cooled
23
before returning to the absorber distribution systems as described before. The

acid collected in the sump of the intermediate absorber will be pumped through plate
type acid coolers by the vertical intermediate absorber pump back to the absorber
distribution system. A bypass located around the cooler ensures a constant
temperature of approx. 70C to the absorber. The concentration of the circulating acid,
measured downstream of the cooler, will be maintained by the addition of 96 % acid
from the SO2 drying tower and by addition of dilution water. The level in the absorber
will be controlled by transferring 98.5 % acid to the final absorption system
5.2.6 Final Absorber Section

The SO3 gas routed from the economizer will enter the final absorption tower. The
gas at a temperature of 180C will flow through the packed tower section. 98.5 %
circulating acid will be introduced counter-currently to the SO 3 gas through an acid
distribution system located in the upper part of the absorber section. After
passing through the packed bed and candle filter assembly, the gas will be routed to
the tail gas scrubbing system. As the absorption of SO3 generates heat, the circulating
acid at a temperature of 85C will be cooled before returning to the absorber. The acid
collected in the pump tank will be pumped through a plate type acid cooler by a
vertical mounted final absorber pump. A temperature-controlled bypass located
around the cooler ensures a constant temperature of approx. 75C to the absorber. The
concentration of the circulating acid, measured downstream of the cooler, will be
maintained by the addition of process water. The level in the absorber pump tank will
be maintained by transferring product acid to the to the clients storage facilities by
the product acid pump. In the product acid cooler the temperature will be reduced
from approx. 85 C to 40 C.
5.3 Important Process Criteria
24
For the production of sulphuric acid SO2 containing gases from the zinc roasting are
used. There are four main process criteria in the production of sulphuric acid from
these kind of gases by the contact/converter process.
They are:
Gas drying
Water balance
Energy/ heat balance
Conversion of SO2 to SO3
Required O2 /SO3 ratio
5.3.1 Gas drying and Water balance

Gas drying is an important process step in this type of contact plant. Gas
drying protects cooler parts of the plant, such as heat exchangers, against corrosion by
acid condensation. It safeguards against formation of acid mist which can be very
difficult to absorb in a later stage of the process. It also protects the catalyst from acid
condensation during plant shut-downs. Therefore, the life of the plant and also the tail
gas purity depend in large measure on a sufficient gas drying.
A substantial amount of heat - not just the heat of dilution of the sulphuric acid but
also the heat of condensation of the water - is liberated in the gas drying stage. For
that reason the circulated acid is generally cooled by indirect heat exchange before
being recycled to the dryer.
5.3.2 Water Balance

The water balance of contact sulphuric acid plants in general may simply be defined
by the specific amount of process water required for achieving the desired product
acid strength from the amount of SO2 converted to SO3.
In the case of cold gas acid plants (like roasting plants) the process water
requirements are usually balanced nearly completely by the water vapour
content of the SO2-feed gases entering the drying tower except for a small margin
necessary for the automatic acid strength control. Thus at a given SO3 gas
concentration and SO2 conversion rate as well as at a fixed product acid strength, the
only variable that can and has to be controlled or limited is the water vapour content
25
of the feed gases entering the drying in order not to exceed the water balance of the
whole system. This is done in the wet gas purification system by cooling the SO 2
gases down to the dew point temperature corresponding to the maximum allowable
water vapour content.
When evaluating the required dew point temperature, it is important not only
to consider the designed suction pressure of the gas purification system but
also the external barometric pressure which depends largely on the elevation of the
plant above sea level.
5.3.3 Absorption of SO3

Sulphur trioxide formed by the catalytic oxidation of sulphur dioxide is
absorbed in sulphuric acid of at least 98 % concentration, in which it reacts with
existing or added water to form more sulphuric acid. The process gas leaving the
converter system is cooled, first in a gas-gas heat exchanger to a temperature
of about 180C before entering the absorber. The gas entering the absorber is
therefore not completely cold and it passes heat to the absorber acid as it passes
through the absorber; by the time it reaches the outlet it is virtually at the same
temperature as the incoming absorber acid.
A substantial amount of heat is also generated in the absorber acid from the absorption
of sulphur trioxide and the formation of sulphuric acid, and the acid temperature rises
in consequence by a margin which depends on the acid circulation rate. The
acid concentration is maintained constant by adding process water to the acid leaving
the absorber and the acid cross flow from the dryer at a rate controlled by a
concentration measuring device. The circulated acid is cooled by indirect cooling.
5.3.4 Energy (Heat) Balance

The SO2 gases leaving the wet gas cleaning system enter the acid plant at temperature
of max. 38C in this case for reasons of the water balance. After removing the rest
water content in the dryer, the process gases must be heated up to the
required converter inlet temperature of min 396C. This is achieved by indirect heat
exchange with the available sensible gas heat released from the SO 2 oxidation in the
converter.
26
The main objective in designing such a cold gas plant is the attainment of auto
thermal operation conditions which becomes primarily a question of the
required gas heat exchanger surface depending on the feed gas SO2 concentration.
The reaction heat in a double catalysis plant based on roaster gases is released from:
The catalytic oxidation:
SO2
O2
SO3
The sulphur trioxide absorption and sulphuric acid formation:

SO3
H2O
H2SO4
H2SO4 +
SO3
H2S2O7
H2S2O7
H2O
2 H2SO4
The dilution to acid production strength of 98.5 % H2SO4 and the condensation heat
for the water content of the gases entering the drying tower system. Sulphuric
acid thus produced is stored in acid storage tanks of capacity 6500 MT each. Finally
gases are discharged through chimney to atmosphere.
5.3.5 O2 /SO2 Ratio

For the conversion of SO2 to SO3 the proportion of O2 volume to SO2 volume in the
feed gas to the converter, called O2/SO2 ratio, is an important factor for the conversion
rate.The design of the contact plant is based on a gas composition which is calculated
on the basis of analyses of the roaster gases be processed. However, in practice other
gas compositions may occur and their different water content may lead to substantial
fluctuations in the gas composition. Considering the SO2 concentration determined
for the design of the double catalysis plant, this may often mean an essential shifting
of the expected O2/SO2 ratio towards lower values. On the other hand, the O 2/SO2
ratio of the gases has a decisive influence on the final conversion efficiency
achievable in the contact plant.
27
Chapter 6: - Roasting
Roasting is a metallurgical process involving gas solid reaction at elevated

temperature Roasting is a process of oxidizing zinc sulphide concentrates at high
temperature into impure zinc oxide this zinc oxide is called zinc calcine. Chemical
reactions involved in this process are:
2 ZnS+3 O2 2 ZnO+ 2 S O2
2 S O2 +O22 S O3
Approximately 90 percent of zinc concentrate are converted to Zinc Oxide.

Temperature required for this conversion is about 900 degree Celsius At this
temperature zinc also reacts with other impurities such as iron and copper thus
forming zinc ferrite the byproduct of this oxidation process is sulphur dioxide which
is used to produce sulfuric acid commodity that is used all around the world sulphuric
acid also finds used in the production of zinc. The flow diagram shows various
processors used to manufacture sulphuric acid.
There are three kinds of roasters mainly used:
multiple heat roasters
Suspension roaster
Fluidized bed roaster
28
Multiple-hearth roaster
In a multiple-hearth roaster, the concentrate drops through a series of 9
or more hearths stacked inside a brick-lined cylindrical column. As the
feed concentrate drops through the furnace, it is first dried by the hot
gases passing through the hearths and then oxidized to produce calcine.
The reactions are slow and can be sustained only by the addition of fuel.
Multiple hearth roasters are unpressurized and operate at about 690 C
(1,274 F). Operating time depends upon the composition of concentrate
and the amount of the sulfur removal required. Multiple hearth roasters
have the capability of producing a high-purity calcine.
Suspension roaster
In a suspension roaster, the concentrates are blown into a combustion
chamber very similar to that of a pulverized coal furnace. The roaster
consists of a refractory-lined cylindrical steel shell, with a large
combustion space at the top and 2 to 4 hearths in the lower portion,
similar to those of a multiple hearth furnace. Additional grinding, beyond
that required for a multiple hearth furnace, is normally required to
ensure that heat transfer to the material is sufficiently rapid for the
desulfurization and oxidation reactions to occur in the furnace chamber.
Suspension roasters are unpressurized and operate at about 980 C
(1,800 F).
Fluidized-bed roaster
In a fluidized-bed roaster, finely ground sulfide concentrates are
suspended and oxidized in a feedstock bed supported on an air column.
As in the suspension roaster, the reaction rates for desulfurization are
more rapid than in the older multiple-hearth processes. Fluidized-bed
roasters operate under a pressure slightly lower than atmospheric and at
temperatures
29
averaging
1,000 C
(1,830 F).
In
the
fluidized-bed
process, no additional fuel is required after ignition has been achieved.

The major advantages of this roaster are greater throughput capacities,
greater sulfur removal capabilities, and lower maintenance.
Out of these three Hindustan zinc at Debari uses fluidized bed roaster. The main
reasons to use this kind of rooster is that it has
Low maintenance
Good of sulphur removal capabilities
and higher capacities to provide high heat
in fluidized bed roaster finely ground sulfide concentrate are suspended and excited
in a feedstock bed supported on an air column this roster operates under pressure
slightly lower than atmospheric and temperature at just a fraction above 900 degree
Celsius and trust no additional fuel is required after the ignition has been achieved.
These rich gases are cleaned and cooled to recover dust content such as Zinc calcine
and remove various harmful impurities such as lead arsenic chlorine before being sent
into the Double contact Double conversion process (dcba). This process is used to
manufacture of sulphuric acid.
The earlier produced roaster product is subjected to leaching with recycled cycled
electrolyte to extract zinc content
V O
1
S O2+ O 2 2 5 S O3
2
380
S O3 + H 2 S O4 H 2 S2 O7
H 2 S2 O7 + H 2 O 2 H 2 S O4
HgCl 2+Hg Hg 2 Cl 2
HgCl 2+ Cl2 2 Hg Cl2
30
Fig. 6 Process Flow Diagram of Roaster Plant
31
Fig. 7
This is the initial operational part in the industry taking place as soon as the raw
material from mining and smelting segment comes out.
The raw materials coming out the mine acting as the feed is ZnS (zinc sulfide) plus
some impurities as other metals like cd, cu, Pb, Fe, etc.
This part is divided into two segments

32
Roasting
Acid Formation
SO2
purification
H2SO4
formation
Roasting: this is the initial operation taking place of conversion of the raw
ZnS (zinc sulfide) into ZnO (calcine).
The
general
ZnS + 3/2O2
reaction
taking
place
in
this
is:
ZnO + SO2
This segment is the place of information of calcine from the basic raw material
ZnS which is then moved on in the leaching and purification segment for the
formation of ZnSO4, which is then electrolyzed to form Zn as output product.
The steps involve in the formation of calcine constitute some of basic steps.
This is shown by following flow sheet:
33
The product coming out from roaster is sent to two sections:

1. ZnO to leaching segment.
34
2. Impure SO2 to purification segment and then to sulfuric acid manufacturing.

Purified SO2 is sent to acid formation segment. The plant consists of two main R2
and R3 acid plant where the purified SO2 gas is passed into a catalytic converter for
the formation of SO3 gas. The following reaction takes place:
So2 + 1/2 O2
SO3
H = -98.875 KJ/mol
Conversion reaction
The formed SO3 is transferred to IAT and FAT for final acid formation.
R2 Plant
R3 Plant
Feed: 250MT / day
Feed: 840 MT/ day
Calcine generation: 220 MT/ day
Calcine generation: 727 MT/day
Acid generation: 216MT/day
Acid generation: 772 MT/day
Acid conversion: 98.4%
Acid conversion: 98.4%
The acid conversion taking inside the absorption tower is given by:
SO3 + H2SO4
H2S2O7
H2S2O7 +H20
2H2SO4
35
Fig. 8
6.1 Parts of Roaster Plant:6.1.1 Cyclone

The cooled and dust loaded gas enters the two parallel cyclones for prededusting with a temperature of approx. 350 C. The gas leaves the cyclones at the
top whereas the dust is collected in the lower part of the cyclones and removed via
rotary valves. Final dedusting of the hot gas is achieved in the hot ESP.
Hot gas precipitator
The gas leaving the cyclones enters a three field hot gas ESP. The ESP consists
of the discharge electrodes, the collecting electrodes, gas distribution walls, casing,
roof, hoppers, horizontal inlet and outlet nozzles, pressure relief system, rapping
systems, sealing air system for the insulators with electric heater and transformer
rectifiers with control cabinet for the electrostatic fields. The precipitator is insulated.
36
The collected dust is removed from the ESP via the chain conveyor and the
rotary valves. Rapping systems are installed at the gas distribution plates in the inlet
cone of the precipitator and at the discharge and collecting electrodes. At their
bottom end, the collecting electrodes run through rapping bars, so that the rap is
effected at the lower side end in the plate plane. A hammer shaft rotates at the end of
each electrostatic field, lifting the rapping hammers which drop down in a free fall
when the vertical position is exceeded. The acceleration amounts to more than
200 g (200 x 9.81 m/s2) at the total collecting electrode area.
During start-up and shut-down the gas temperature in the precipitator can fall below
the dew point. To prevent condensation on the insulator a heating system is installed.
This heating system, consisting of a fan and a heater supplies hot air to all insulators.
This hot air prevents the penetration of gases to the insulators and also will keep the
insulators at a temperature above the dew point to prevent the formation of
condensate, which could cause electrical flash-overs.
Each discharge electrode system is supported by means of four high voltage
insulators. The discharge electrodes are tightened in tubular frames, which are
vertically arranged between the collecting electrodes. The high voltage insulators
which support the discharge electrode systems are located within box-type roof
beams on top of the electrostatic precipitator and a key-system is used to
secure every door. By this way they are protected against accidental contact to
personnel.
Separate transformer-rectifier sets per each electrostatic field (= 3 fields = 3
units) are installed. The discharge electrode systems is supplied with high voltage DC
by modern transformer rectifier sets. Each transformer rectifier set will have its own
cubicle for control and regulation. Such a transformer rectifier set (power pack)
contains a high tension transformer and semiconductor rectifier pack. Both are
installed in a steel vessel immersed in oil. The vessels of the power packs are located
in the high voltage room below the hot gas electrostatic precipitator. The optimum
values of the high voltage are controlled by a special low voltage control system.
There is a high voltage switch on top of the T/R set for manual operation for
disconnecting of high voltage supply and earthing of the discharge electrode system.
37
6.1.2 Gas Cleaning Plant

Gases leaving waste heat boiler are passed through cyclone to remove the calcine
particles and then passed through hot gas precipitator to remove the fine particles of
calcine by the application of electric field.
6.1.3 Quench Tower

In the quench tower, the hot gas is cooled by the evaporation of water. The heat of the
incoming gas (Temperature: > 300C) is used for the evaporation of water that is
sprayed into the Quench Tower. The sensitive heat of the gas is converted into water
vapor (latent heat). This type of cooling can be considered as an adiabatic process.
Adiabatic means, the process step is operated without energy exchange with the
environment. But besides this quenching, also a part of the dust and condensable
impurities in the gas will be scrubbed in the quench tower. At the outlet of the tower,
the gas contains water vapor. If the temperature is lowered, water vapor will
condense. The Quench Tower is designed as counter current flow type quencher. The
gas inlet is at the bottom part of the casing. The gas outlet is at the top of the quench
tower. The liquid is sprayed into the quench tower in counter-current flow to the gas.
A part of the spray does evaporate, but the biggest portion will be collected in the
lower part of the tower which does serve as pump tank. A side stream of the spray
circuits is guided through a settling tank for removal of suspended solids.
Excess liquid from the washing and cooling system is discharged from the quench
tower circuit via strippers.
6.1.4 Packed gas cooling tower

The adiabatic cooling in the quench tower does result in water saturated gas and
consequently in a high content of gaseous water in the SO 2-gas. If the water vapour
would not be lowered prior to the drying tower, the concentration of the sulphuric acid
would be lower than acceptable limits. Removal of water vapour is done in a packed
gas cooling tower. The gas enters the tower from the bottom and flows upwardly
through the packing. In counter current flow to the gas, cold cooling liquid (weak
acid) is distributed over the packing. The downward flowing cold liquid does cool the
SO2-gas and water vapour is condensed. While flowing downward, the cooling liquids
38
heats up. The lower part of the tower serves as a pump tank. From this pump tank, the
cooling liquid is circulated via pumps and plate heat exchangers back to the liquid
distribution system. The plate heat exchangers are cooled with cooling water which is
circulated via evaporative type cooling towers.
The packed gas cooling tower is designed as cylindrical vessel made of FRP.
Diameter and packing height are calculated in a way, that filling bodies made of
plastic (PP, PVC) with a diameter of 2 inch and a specific surface of more than 90
m2/m3 are to be used. The gas side pressure drop does not exceed 4 mbar under full
gas load. The liquid distribution system shall ensure an equal distribution of the liquid
on the upper surface of the packing. The liquid distribution system will have two feed
points for cooling liquid. The liquid distribution system will be made of FRP. Plastic
pumps (material: HP PE) will be used. The pipes will be made of FRP.
6.1.5 Wet gas precipitator

Final removal of dust and aerosols will be carried out in the wet electrostatic
precipitator system which consists of two stages of precipitators. Downstream of the
second stage of the wet electrostatic precipitators, the SO 2-gas will be optically clean.
The wet ESPs will be of the tube type with gas flow in vertical direction. While
flowing through the wet ESP tubes, the aerosols and particles are electrically charged
due to high tension and migrate to the collection tubes.
Particles and aerosols separated from the gas will be removed continuously together
with the condensate at the bottom of the ESPs, respectively from the connected gas
ducts. The liquids will be directed to a tank, which does also serve for wet ESP
flushing.
Normally wet ESPs do have a good self-cleaning. This self-cleaning can be improved
in the second stage wet ESPs by the installation of a continuous spraying system But
from time to time, depending on the operating conditions, each precipitator must be
flushed. This is done with liquid, that is withdrawn from a tank and that is pumped to
the flushing nozzles installed in the top part of the wet ESPs.
All parts of the wet electrostatic precipitators in contact with the gas stream will be
made of the following acid resistant materials: Homogeneously lead lined steel PVC,
PP, FRP or FRP with PVC-lining
39
The materials are selected in accordance with the operating conditions and
mechanical loads to which the equipment is subjected.
6.1.6 Mercury Removal

For the production of sulphuric acid with a low mercury-content, so-called Norzinc
Mercury Removal Process (Calomel Process) is in foreseen. This process allows a
cost efficient removal of metallic mercury vapours from SO 2-gases upstream of
sulphuric acid plants. The ingress of mercury into the sulphuric acid is prevented and
a safe and reliable production of a sulphuric acid with low mercury contents is
achieved.
Chapter 7: - Leaching and Purification

Leaching is a widely used extractive metallurgy technique which converts metal into
soluble salts in aqueous media. Compared to pyro metallurgical operations. Leaching
is easier to perform and much less harmful, because no gaseous pollution occurs. The
only drawback of leaching is its lower efficiency caused by low temperatures of the
operation which dramatically affect chemical reaction rates.
40
Leaching refers to the dissolving of the captured calcine in a solution of sulphuric

acid to form zinc sulphate solution of sulphuric acid to form zinc sulphate solution.
Unfortunately, this presents a dilemma. If the conditions are too weakly acidic, then a
substantial part of zinc will not be dissolved. On the other hand, if strong and hot
sulphuric acid is used the zinc will be almost completely dissolved but so will the
iron, and it then becomes a problem to separate the large quantity of dissolved iron. In
practice, the leaching process is carried out in several steps, the first step invariably
being only very weakly acid. The zinc sulphate so produced is separated from the
remaining solids and passes to the next step which is purification.
ZnO + H2SO4
ZnSO4 + H2O
The solid residues separated from the leaching process still contain substantial amount
of zinc, together with the gangue components and lead, silver and other impurities.
Most commonly the solids are leached with strong, often hot, sulphuric acid,
dissolving most of the remaining zinc together with iron and other impurities, leaving
a lead-silver residue that may be further treated for recovery of these metals. The
dissolved iron is then brought out of solution to make a solid iron residue for dumping
and the remaining solution joins the main production stream for zinc. There are many
variations within this residue treatment process.
The enriched zinc sulphate
solution is further subjected to purification subjected to purification with zinc dust to

eliminate impurities like copper, cadmium, cobalt and nickel because zinc is a highly
reactive metal. This property can be used to remove them. By adding powdered zinc
to the solution the zinc is oxidized and dissolves, with the opposite side of the reaction
being the reduction of the reaction being the reduction of the other dissolved metals
back to their metallic form. Removal of impurities from the zinc sulphate is most
important. If they remain, not only will the zinc produced from the subsequent
electrolysis be insufficiently pure, but their presence will interfere with the smooth
running of the electrolysis process itself. The minor elements such as cadmium and
copper can be subsequently removed by other processes to produce by products for
sale.
41
Fig. 9
42
Fig.10 Process Flow of Leaching plant
43
The segments performed in the operation constitute the following parts:
Neutral Leaching
Acid Leaching
1. Neutral Leaching: The iron leached from fine particles of ZnO.Fe 2O3 will be precipitated as hydroxides
in neutral medium according to equation
Fe2 (SO4)3 + 3ZnO + 3H2O
2Fe(OH)3 + 3ZnSO4
The Zinc is calcine present as:

ZnO 81-83%
ZnS 1-2%
ZnSO4 - 6-7%
ZnOFe2O4 10%
In the first stage of leaching solution will be acidic and pH is 1.5 to 1.8. The main
equation is:
MeO + H2SO4
MeSO4 + H2O
Where Me is any metal like Zn, Cu, Co, Ni, Pd

The pH solution discharged after completion of leaching is 4.8 to 4.9 at that pH
acidity is negligible.
2. Acid Leaching: This is carried in carriers having capacity of 45 m 3. The underflow from neutral
leaching containing dissolved ZnO & ZnO.Fe2CO3 is leached with spent electrolyte to
pH of 2.8. Alternate carriers are provided with eating coil through which steam is
passed. Reaction time is 5 hr most soluble oxide goes into solution. The overflow
containing 30-40 gpl of Zn is sent to neutral leaching. Underflow is pumped to 2
drums.
7.1 Leaching Plant

Leaching is a widely used extractive metallurgy technique which converts metals into
soluble salts in aqueous media. Compared to pyrometallurgical operations, leaching is
easier to perform and much less harmful, because no gaseous pollution occurs. The
only drawback of leaching is its lower efficiency caused by the low temperatures of
the operation, which dramatically affect chemical reaction rates.
44
Neutral Leaching Of Zinc Calcine: The first neutral leaching step is the most important section of the leaching plant,
because approx. 70% of the total dissolved Zn is dissolved in this leaching step. The
main target is to leach the zinc oxide from the calcine and oxidize the ferrous iron to
the ferric state. In addition to being an important zinc leaching step, the neutral
leaching step is also an important purification step. Impurities like Fe, As, Sb, and Ge
are precipitated in the last tanks of neutral leaching.
Neutral leaching consists of following main process equipment:
One 35 MT capacity calcine hopper
Seven 680 MT capacity calcine storage silos
Three screw conveyors, and five reddler conveyors
One classifier and ball mill
Nine 45 m3 leaching reactors and first reactor is called Ready for calcine
Two 16 m diameter thickeners
Two 70 m3 thickener overflow tanks
Calcine conveying
Calcine from roaster plant is taken through bucket elevator. There are two bucket
elevator. This calcine is transferred to calcine hopper. When calcine hopper is full,
calcine is diverted to storage silos through reddler conveyors to any of the seven silos
depending on the level of calcine present in each of them.
7.1 Neutral leaching

The ready for calcine(RC) and remaining leaching pachukas (Reactor) are all covered
and equipped with agitators and stacks. Pachukas are equipped with injectors for
oxygen gas. Execpt RC and the eight leaching pachukas are arranged in a cascade and
are interconnected with an overflow launder, so that the solution fed to the first tank
flows by gravity to all the tanks and to the classifier without pumps. Also, the launder
system enables the bypass of any single pachuka.
45
Fig.-11 Process Diagram for Neutral Leaching
Calcine from calcine hopper is fed through a screw conveyor and reddler conveyor.
Ready for calcine solution is prepared continuously in RC tank and in case of
breakdown of RC tank first pachuka is used for ready for calcine.
The main acid bearing solutions, which is used to leach the calcine added into the
neutral leach step is the spent elecrolyte from cell house whith approx. 180 g/l free
H2SO4 along with ball mill slurry and occasionally conversion overflow acid overflow
also can be added. In addition MnO 2 (To control the ferrous content) KMnO 4 are to be
added in RC tank. The dosing of MnO2 is carried out by a magnetic vibrator.
The solution mixture from the RC tank, with a free acidity of about 100-120 g/l
H2SO4 pumped to the pachuka. The acidity is lowered in the leaching tank series by
calcine addition in two steps.
46
The basic chemical reactions in the neutral leaching process are:

ZnO
H2SO4
ZnSO4 +
H2O
CuO
H2SO4
CuSO4 +
H2O
CdO
H2SO4
PbO
H2SO4
CdSO4 +
PbSO4 +
H2O
H2O
In addition to the reactions above, MnO2 reacts in the first leaching pachukas
2 FeSO4 + 2 H2SO4 + MnO2 Fe2 (SO4)3 +MnSO4 + 2 H2O
Where as in the last leaching pachukas oxygen is reacting and iron hydroxide is
precipitated
2 FeSO4 + 2 H2SO4 + O2
+ ZnO
Fe2 (SO4)3 + ZnSO4
+ 2 H2O
Fe2(SO4)3 + 3 ZnO + 3 H2O
4 Fe(OH)3
2 Fe(OH)3
+ Sb/As/Al/Ge-complex
3 ZnSO4
Fe-OH-Sb-As-Ge-Complex
7.2 Acid Leaching

The main task of the acid leaching step is to dissolve the remaining zinc oxide, which
was not dissolved during Neutral leaching and to reach a zinc oxide leaching
efficiency of more than 97%.
The main chemical reactions in weak acid leaching are:
ZnO
H2SO4
ZnSO4
H2O
MeO +
H2SO4
MeSO4
H2O (Me = Cu, Cd etc.)
47
Fig.-12 Process Diagram for Acid Leaching and Neutralization

7.3 Neutralization:
Neutralization is used to remove the impurities Sb, As, Al and Ge by neutralizing the
over flow from acid leaching thickner and jarosite precipitation thickners with calcine
before sending it to neutral leaching.
7.3.1 Residual Treatment Plant (RTP):

The conversion process main function is to simultaneously leach the zinc ferrite and
precipitate the iron as ammonium or sodium jarosite. The conversion process
comprise the following main equipment.
Five 300 m3 conversion reactors
Two 18 m diameter thickners
Two 70 m3 thickener overflow tank
One 20 m3 condensate tank
Two (NH4)2SO4 /Na2SO4 preparation tank
48
Fig.-13 Process Diagram for Residual Treatment Plant
The five conversion reactors are arranged in a cascade and are interconnected with an
overflow launder. The solution flows by gravity from the first conversion reactor
down the cascade through all reactors into the thickner of ccd system without the need
of pumping. Each reactor is covered and equipped with an agitator, a vent stack and
steam heating elements.
The weak acid leaching underflow is pumped through a flow indicator and controller
into the launder before the first conversion process in order to compensate for the
sulphate losses.
MnO slurry from ZE plant is pumped in to inlet and is added to oxidize ferrous
ion.the temperature of all reactors is kept at 95-100. Ammonium sulphate or sodium
sulphate diluted with condensate water is added at outlet for formation of jarosite.
49
7.3.2 Magnesium Removal

The magnesium removal is required to maintain minimum magnesium in process
solutions. For the separation of Zn from the Mg, lime milk is used.
The magnesium plant consists of following main equipment
One continuous vaccum drum filter
Two magnesium reactors 20 m each
Two lime preparation reactors
The lime milk solution is prepared in the lime milk tank. The Ca(OH) 2 is fed from
lime bin into the precipitation tank and the COF is fed using pump.Alternatively the
feed can be filtrate from the jarosite filtration step. The lime milk is circulated to the
precipitation tanks using pump.The neutralization process is continuous and
dimensioned for about four hours retention time.The precipitation tanks are run at pH
6.8-7.5. Zinc is precipated together with which is not a desired situation.In pH 8 Zn is
almost totally precipated and Mg has started to precipitate. The zinc concentration
will be below 10 mg/l after neutralization. Samples will be taken and analyzed
once/shift and correction in lime feed made if too much zinc is going through.
The reactions will be
ZnSO4
Ca(OH)2
+ 2 H2O
Zn(OH)2 + CaSO4 .2H2O
MgSO4 +
Ca(OH)2
+ 2 H2O
Mg(OH)2 + CaSO4 .2 H2O
H2SO4
Ca(OH)2
2 H2O
+ CaSO4 .2H2O
The slurry from reactor is fed to drum under vaccum. The MgSO 4 is filtered out and
cake is retained over the cloth which is re pulped with COF and charged in reactors
through pumpfrom where it is pumped to ETP.
50
7.3.3 Horizontal Belt Filter

In the section the jarosite and leach residue slurry is filtered and washed on horizontal
vacuum belt filters to maximize water soluble zinc recovery. This section comprises
of the following main equipment
Two vaccum belt filter units(one is stand by)
One cake slurry re pulping tank
The underflow slurry of door is pumped with pump to HBF over head tank. For
proper vaccum control each horizontal belt filter will be equipped with its own water
ring type vaccum pump system.
The jarosite cake is separated on polypropylene filter cloth repulped with ETP water
and pumped to ETP via HBF slurry tank. Speed of the belt input slurry flow to HBF
and wash water quantity is controlled by the concerned C/H in the HBF control room.
Vacculm pipes are connected beneath the mother belt and filter water is used for the
vaccum sealing purpose. Mother liquor (collected in the feed zone and drying zone)
7.4 Purification for leaching: -
The purification process utilizes the cementation process to further purify the
zinc. It uses zinc dust and steam to remove copper, cadmium, cobalt, and
nickel, which would interfere with the electrolysis process. After purification,
concentrations of these impurities are limited to less than 0.05 milligram per
liter (4x10-7 pounds per gallon). Purification is usually conducted in large
agitated tanks. The process takes place at temperatures ranging from 40 to 85
C (104 to 185 F), and pressures ranging from atmospheric to 240 kilopascals
(2.4 atm). The by-products are sold for further refining.
The zinc sulfate solution must be very pure for electrowinning to be at all
efficient. Impurities can change the decomposition voltage enough to where
the electrolysis cell produces largely hydrogen gas rather than zinc metal.
51
Purification of ZnSO4 is necessary as certain elements even if amounting 2 mg/l

may cause: 1. Hydrogen evolution and dissolution of Zn by removing impurities Fe 2+, Co,
Ni, As, etc.
2. Zn is electropositive to ordinary metal like Cu, Fe and Cd, etc. Therefore
during electrolysis these elements coil tends to deposit along with zinc
affecting the purity of final product and current efficient.
7.4.1 Principle: Keeping temperature to 80-85 oC, the clear overflow from the natural thickener is
fed into purification stage. The purpose of this stage is to remove base metal
impurities like Cu, Cd and Ni, which are harmful to electrolysis to Zn. All these
elements are removed by precipitation with the help of Zn dust. Zn being placed
in higher place then these elements displaces them from solution of sulphates as
per the reaction:
Zn + MnSO4
ZnSO4 + M(ppt)
The purification consists of removal of metals leke Cd, Cu, Co, etc. present in the
form of its sulphate solution which is coming out from overflow of neutral
leaching.
The solution removed are CdSO 4, CuSO4 and CoSO4, for getting a pure ZnS0 4
solution.
The overflow solution of neutral leaching (80-81 0C) is mixed with Zinc dust and
Antimony solution sent to a 2 stage thickener i.e. T1(218) and T2(219).
The solution is reduced from 3-4 ppm to 0.2 ppm which indicates removal of
unwanted sulphates.
This is cleared solution is sent to filter press where the clear solution of ZnS0 4 is
sent to zinc electrolysis segment along with Sulphuric Acid.
52
Zinc Dust: Due to high electropositive element, the process of zinc dust involves:
1. Zinc Melting
2. Zinc Vapourisation
3. Condensation
4. Productive technology
For Zinc vapourisation a voltage of 1000-1100 0C is created with the help of 2
electrodes, one at top and other at base. It is filled with molten zinc.
Production rate is about 6-6.5 MT per day. The pressure of N 2 gas is about 600ft3. The
consumption to produce 1MT ZN dust is about 825-850 KW per Hr.
53
Chapter 8: - Zinc electrolysis

Zinc is extracted from the zinc sulphate solution by electro winning which is
specialized form of electrolysis the cell house mainly consists of the following parts:
electrolytic cell
purified solution storage tank
spent electrolyte storage tank
spent electrolyte cooling tower
reagent section
electrolyte feed launder
anode cleaning section
cell cleaning section
stripping section
8.1 Electrolytic cell

This is the heart of the cell house. It is made up of reinforced concrete and is
supported on electric isolator on one side of the cell and a PVC overflow box is
integrated on the other. The cell has about 8 meters length 1.4 width and 2.5 meter
height it cell contains 30 cathode and 31 anodes
Anode is made up of lead silver alloy containing 2.5 percent silver. Silver is added to
increase the conductivity and strength of the anode plate. Anode header is made up of
copper and has a copper contact on the other side. Cathodes are made up of
aluminum.
54
Electrolyte used is purified zinc sulphate mixed with appropriate spent electrolyte in
this cell is deposited on the cathode that is aluminum sheets and oxygen is found at
the anode that is lead silver alloy. Sulphuric acid is also formed in the process and
reused in the leaching process. Every 24 hours each cell is shut down the zinc coated
cathodes are removed and rinsed and zinc is mechanically stripped from the
aluminum plates.
Electrolytic zinc smelter plant in as many as several hundred electrolytic cells a
portion of electrical energy is converted into heat which increases the temperature of
the electrolyte the electric field of rates at temperatures ranging from 30 degree
Celsius to 35 degree Celsius and atmospheric pressure of solution of electrolyte is
continuously circulated through the cooling towers both to Cool and concentrate the
electrolyte through evaporation of water the cold and concentrated electrolyte is then
recycle to the cells this process accounts for approximately one third of all the energy
usage while using undergoes the process of zinc smelting the deposited zinc on the
cathodes are periodically stripped by automatic strapping machines or manually. Here
at Hindustan zinc limited cell house uses 35 megawatt of electricity the total used
electricity by Hindustan zinc debari is 70 megawatt.
After the zinc is derived from the cathode is zinc sheets go for melting to the smelter.
8.2 Electrolysis Plant

Zinc is extracted from the purified zinc sulfate solution by electrowinning, which is a
specialized form of electrolysis. The process works by passing an electric current
through the solution in a series of cells. This causes the zinc to deposits on the
cathodes (aluminium sheets) and oxygen to form at the anodes. Sulfuric acid is also
formed in the process and reused in the leaching process. Every 24 to 48 hours, each
cell is shut down, the zinc-coated cathodes are removed and rinsed, and the zinc is
mechanically stripped from the aluminum plates.
Electrolytic zinc smelters contain as many as several hundred cells. A portion of the
electrical energy is converted into heat, which increases the temperature of the
electrolyte. Electrolytic cells operate at temperature ranges from 30 to 35C (86 to
95F) and at atmospheric pressure. A portion of the electrolyte is continuously
circulated through the cooling towers both to cool and concentrate the electrolyte
55
through evaporation of water. The cooled and concentrated electrolyte is then recycled
to the cells. This process accounts for approximately 1/3 of all the energy usage when
smelting zinc
The electrolysis phase uses large amounts of electrical energy and is responsible for
the high proportion of the energy-cost in the overall smelting process (typically about
one third of total plant cash costs). Hence, cell house productivity (and electrical
current and energy efficiency in particular) is a crucial driver in overall plant
efficiency. Debari runs some of the industrys largest and most efficient cell houses.
Chapter 9: - Melting and Casting

Cathode melting will be carried out in two identical electric induction furnaces. The
furnaces will have a guaranteed average melting rate of 22 tonnes per hour of zinc
cathodes (maximum ~ 24 tonnes per hour). The melting rate is infinitely variable
between 0% and 100% of the maximum melting rate and is controlled by the
automatic control system to match the rate that molten metal is removed (pumped)
from the furnace.
Each furnace is equipped with a still well equipped with one or more molten metal
pumps. The pump delivers molten zinc to a launder system feeding the casting
machine. Each furnace feeds a single casting line. In addition, provision is made to
pump molten zinc from one of the furnaces to the zinc dust production plant.
In addition to cathode bundles, the furnace chutes are designed to receive metallic
zinc from the dross separation plant and metallic zinc skims from the casting
machines. This material is fed to any chute (normally one dedicated chute) from
forklift transported to hoppers that have been raised to the charging floor by the
freight elevator (lift). The required amount of nh4cl to enhance the melting of this
material is manually added to each hopper prior to dumping in the charge chute.
When cathode zinc is melted, a layer of dross comprised mainly of zinc oxide
entrained molten zinc droplets is produced. This dross must be removed from the
56
furnace once in every 24 hours by manually skimming the dross from the surface of
the bath in a process called drossing. This process consists of opening one of the
doors on the side of the furnace, manually spreading a few kg of NH 4Cl onto the dross
layer, manually agitating the dross layer with a steel rake and finally using the
rake to drag the dross through the open door of the furnace into a forklift tote bin.
During the drossing process, the furnace is operated under conditions of increased
ventilation to contain the fumes and dust that are generated by the agitation and dross
removal processes. The totes of furnace dross are transported by lift truck to the dross
cooling area, to await treatment in the dross separation plant.
Chapter 11: - Hazards and their prevention in zinc smelting

and refining process
The major hazards are exposure to ore dust during ore processing and while smelting
it is the metal fumes during refining and roasting sulphur dioxide and carbon
monoxide during most smelting operations noise from crushing and grinding
operations and from the furnace is the heat stress from the sulphuric acid and
electrical hazards during electrolytic process.
Industrial jarosite is a waste product of the Zinc industry. It is considered as serious
environmental hazard, due to the quantity produced and the presence of hazardous
metals it contains. Over 50 million tons are already stored worldwide. The jarosite
sludge autoclave treatment process is a technically and economically feasible
alternative to storage.
LEV for dust transfer operations, local exhaust and dilution ventilation for Sulphur
Dioxide and carbon monoxide a noise control and hearing protection means,
protective clothing and shields, rest breaks and fluids for heat stress and LEV,PPE and
electrical precautions and electrical process respiratory protection is commonly worn
to protect against dust, fumes and Sulphur Dioxide.
57
Safety
58
59
Green Initiatives: -
Climate Change Management

Leading
wind
power
generator
in
India-~274MWof
installed
windpower
Registered 4CDM projects with UNFCCC for utilizing waste heat, low
calorific value gas and generating windpower
100,000 plantations on the occasion of 'WorldEnvironmentDay-5 th
June 2012'.Total plantation: 1.35million
Reducing water footprint
60
Sewage treatment plant, Effluent treatment plant and Reverse

Osmosis plant in place for recycling 100% of waste water generated
Adiabatic cooling towers in place of conventional water cooling
towers in Roaster at Dariba
Gain fully utilizing waste
Ensuring
100%
use
of
fly
ash
million
MT
of
and
bottom
ash
in
cement
utilized
in
cement
manufacturing
More
than
0.8
ISF
slag
manufacturing
Pilot study conducted on utilizing Jarofix in road construction, results
are favorable
References
Plant Operating Manuals Zinc Smelter Debari, Udaipur

McCabe, Smith, Harriott Unit Operations of Chemical Engineering
McGraw-Hill International Editions.

http://www.hzlindia.com/index.aspx
Limited [Viewed on 10-07-2011]

http://www.vedantaresources.com/default.aspx Offical Website of Vedanta
Official Website of Hindustan Zinc
Resources [Viewed on 10-07-2011]
61
Conclusion
The 45 days that I spend at Hindustan Zinc Limited as an intern were very
fruitful and I gained valuable experience in how things happen in an industry. They
gave me an opportunity to work in the operations and help out in maintenance of the
Roaster and Acid Plant 3.
Good relations exist between labour and management and very few disputes
strikes and such issues are not relevant here.
Though the plant and infrastructure is planned and executed as per demand but
some lacuna does remain.
Here I got very good co-operation by staff and workers at various areas and the
maintenance department.
I wish the very best success to the plant workers and administration and hope
they get a completion results in the future endeavors.
62

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Practical Training Report

Study of Acid and Roaster Plant

Training Period: - 20th May, 2015 to 2nd July, 2015

Submitted by: Karan

Sir Padampat Singhania University

(MECHANICAL) at SIR PADAMPAT SINGHANIA UNIVERSITY comprises of

Signature of the Student:

SIR PADAMPAT SINGHANIA UNIVERSITY

About the company.......01

About Zinc Usage.06

General Process Overview

Raw Material Handling

Pyro Metallurgical Process.13

Hydro Metallurgical Process...14

Drying and Absorption Section18

Basic Operations in Plant.19

Intermediate Absorber Section21

Final Absorber Section22

Important Process Criteria22

Energy (Heat) Balance.24

Parts of Roaster Plant..........32

Gas Cleaning Plant.........................36

Packed gas Cooling tower......................36

Wet gas precipitator.......................37

Leaching and Purification

Residual Treatment Plant.............................46

Horizontal Belt Filter.......................49

Purification for leaching..............................49

Melting and Casting

Hazards and their prevention in zinc smelting and refining process...............55

Zinc Smelter Plant Block Diagram

Zinc usage around the world

General Process in plant

Block diagram of roaster plant

Process diagram for acid plant

Process flow diagram of roaster plant

Flow sheet of roasting process

Block diagram of acid plant

Flow diagram of 1st stage leach process

Process flow of leaching plant

Process diagram for Neutral Leaching

Process diagram for acid leaching and neutralization

Process diagram for residual treatment plant

The primary smelters producing zinc located in

is hydrometallurgical smelter producing

Raw Material Suppliers: a) Zawar Mines

Process Collaborators:1. Krebs Penorrova, France:Leaching, Purification, Electrolysis

4. I.S.C., ALLOY, U.K.:Zinc dust plant, Allen Power Plant

Properties of Zinc (metallic) at 293K

Specific Latent Heat of Fusion

Specific heat capacity

5.9 ohm meter

Temp. Coefficient of resistance

Fig 1. Zinc Smelter Plant Block Diagram

Brass Bronze; 17%

Die Casting; 17%

manufacturing of Heat handling components and Electrical components. Zinc

2.2 Zinc mining

2.3 Zinc Smelting

Chapter 3: - General Process Overview

Fig 3. General Processes In Plant

Chapter 4: - Raw Material Handling